School Districts in New Brunswick to Make Their Own French/English School Bus Policies

The New Brunswick government has withdrawn a request for the Court of Appeal to rule on whether the provision of separate school bus systems for English and French students is a constitutional requirement and decided to let school districts make their own policies on the matter. 

Education Minister Brian Kenny said today that school districts have the responsibility for managing pupil transportation, as outlined in a new policy, and a reference question to the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick on the matter will be withdrawn by the provincial government.

“As the Supreme Court has ruled that minority language parents and their representatives have the right of management and control of their children’s education, we will implement a new policy that will clarify that pupil transportation rests clearly in the hands of the district education councils which are elected by the public, including parents.”

This policy outlines that the district education councils have the ability to operate their own pupil transportation services, to share services with other districts or to engage private transportation providers. The government is also repealing the regulatory requirement for districts to seek government approval to enter into contracts for pupil transportation.

The decision comes after last month's Court of Appeal statement that it wasn't persuaded it should hear the case.