The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Local resolutions

2-4/20
Edmonton Public Teachers
Be it resolved that the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) and the Association collaborate on a model policy to regulate and govern the use of third-party tracking applications in all ASBA member school authorities.

2-6/20
Edmonton Public Teachers
Be it resolved that the Association urge the Government of Alberta to provide funding to school authorities in order to provide free menstrual products for students in all Alberta schools.

2-7/20
Edmonton Public Teachers
Be it resolved that the Association urge the Government of Alberta to not implement any high-stakes testing programs for students in Division I.

2-8/20
Edmonton Public Teachers
Be it resolved that long-term policy 24.3.1.1 be amended to read—
“Cosponsors and administrators who hold funds in trust for the benefit of Alberta teachers should invest these funds in a manner that identifies and manages environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks by

1. considering ESG risk factors when evaluating potential investments and reinvestments,
2. using their influence and voting shares to help ensure that corporations in which they have invested make responsible decisions and
3. after completing due diligence divesting from corporations when appropriate.”

2-12/20
Rocky View
Be it resolved that the Association urge the Government of Alberta to reinstate comprehensive reporting of class size data on the government’s Open Data portal.

2-15/20
Rocky View
Be it resolved that the Association is opposed to Quebec’s Bill 21 and urges the Alberta and Canadian governments to stand up for the human rights of all Canadians.

2-16/20
Rocky View
Be it resolved that reasonable and regular time for lesson preparation and assessment be allocated within existing assignable time.

2-20/20
Northern Spirit
Be it resolved that the Association urge the Government of Alberta to continue fully funding the Program Unit Funding program.

2-27/20
Calgary Public Teachers
Be it resolved that the Annual Representative Assembly’s business must conclude by 2130 hours on any given day that the Assembly is held.

2-35/20
Calgary Public Teachers
Be it resolved that the Association allow all members of provincial ATA committees to choose, in advance, whether to receive documents pertaining to their committee work and meetings digitally or in print.

2-39/20
Parkland Teachers
Be it resolved that the Association explore establishing partnerships with audiovisual companies that could be used by Association subgroups.

Provincial Executive Council resolutions

1-44/20
(Administrative Procedure)
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that administrative procedure 1.3.5.2 be amended to read –
“The Association believes that employment equity is a positive process leading to equal opportunities in education and employment, and so it endorses the concept of equity in employment for all people without discrimination.”

1-53/20
(Administrative Procedure)
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that administrative procedure 1.3.7.6 be amended by substitution to read –
“The Association, in coordination with the investment manager, oversees the Association’s investment portfolio and continues to consider environmental, social and governance risk factors when evaluating potential investment decisions.”

3-4/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that, in Alberta, public education refers to public, separate and francophone education.

3-5/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Teachers’ Pension Plan allow teachers to contribute to the plan for periods of Canadian, allied or other approved military service not covered by another plan.

3-6/20
Provincial Executive Council
Calgary Public Teachers
Rocky View
Be it resolved that the Association demand the Government of Alberta repeal Bill 22, thus allowing the Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund (ATRF) full control over choosing investment managers, including the use of internal ATRF investment management.

3-9/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that locals are encouraged to establish women in educational leadership committees.

3-10/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association urge the Government of Alberta to allow students to use appropriate, secured educational technologies, in addition to scientific and graphing calculators, during math and science diploma exams and other standardized assessments.

3-11/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association urge the Government of Alberta to supplement the English Language Arts Authorized Novels and Nonfiction Annotated List with a more general guide to text selection.

3-13/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association accept the scientific consensus that anthropogenic climate change is a real and critical challenge affecting the planet and the future of humanity.

3-14/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association support the inclusion of curriculum that explicitly addresses issues relating to anthropogenic climate change in a manner that is subject and age appropriate.

3-15/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association support the inclusion of curriculum that allows embedded opportunities to address issues relating to anthropogenic climate change, giving students an opportunity to express their views.

3-16/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association urge school authorities to adopt and implement policies that respect students’ growth as active citizens, including voluntary participation in democratic actions and activities while addressing potential risks to students.

3-17/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association urge every local to engage in work to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s education-related calls to action and operate in the spirit of the objectives and principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

3-19/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association provide the means to identify preferred pronouns for all Association events for use on nametags.

3-20/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association’s online member database allow individuals to identify their preferred pronouns.

3-21/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that gender-neutral washrooms be available and publicly identified at all Association events.

3-22/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association and its subgroups allow only the administrator of the ATA Group RRSP to be a financial presenter or financial vendor at Association events.

3-28/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that, pursuant to general bylaw 9(2)(a), the fee payable by an active member employed full-time be $1,347 per annum effective 2020 09 01.

3-29/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that, pursuant to general bylaw 9(2)(f), the fee payable by an associate member be $202.05 per annum effective 2020 09 01.

3-30/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that school authorities be urged to share annually a report of their joint worksite health and safety committees’ work, including a report of aggregate data for the school year, to be shared with the appropriate Association local president by November 1.

3-31/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association urge the Government of Alberta to immediately provide new funding to school authorities to hire additional staff to support safe re-entry to school, including

1. teachers to reduce student cohort group size,
2. school-based administrators to help manage issues emerging as a result of COVID-19,
3. counsellors to support the increased mental health needs of students,
4. custodians to ensure ongoing cleaning,
5. educational assistants to help promote and ensure health-related guidelines are being observed and
6. public health nurses to assist with monitoring the health of students and staff and responding to potential infections.

3-32/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association urge the Government of Alberta to fund school authorities to place under contract the equivalent of 10 per cent of the full-time teaching force to ensure substitute teachers are readily available and supported while schools operate during the pandemic.

3-33/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association urge the Government of Alberta to establish a multisectoral consultation body that includes representation of teachers (through the Alberta Teachers’ Association), parents (through the Alberta School Councils’ Association), and superintendents and trustees through their respective organizations, with Alberta Health Services and Alberta Education, to identify challenges and scenarios, operationalize reopening plans, and assess and support ongoing adaptation in light of changing circumstances and science.

3-34/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association condemn the government layoff of over 25,000 educational assistants, support staff, bus drivers and substitute teachers when in-person classes were cancelled at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and call upon the government to restore these positions as part of the return-to-school strategy.

3-35/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association urge the Government of Alberta to restore full program unit funding to three years in Alberta’s public, separate and francophone school authorities.

3-36/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association urge the Government of Alberta to restore full funding for the Regional Collaborative Service Delivery program that provided cross-ministry supports and services to students in Alberta schools.

3-37/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association urge the Government of Alberta to fund enrolment growth by modifying the funding model to ensure that every additional student who enters Alberta’s K–12 public education system is fully funded.

3-38/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association use all legal measures at its disposal to seek the overturn of Bill 32, Restoring Balance in Alberta’s Workplaces Act, and to prevent infringements on teachers’ freedoms of speech and association.

3-39/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Association urge the Government of Alberta to ensure that curriculum redesign includes specific outcomes related to antiracism teaching and the histories of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour.

3-40/20
Provincial Executive Council
Be it resolved that the Government of Alberta ensure, at minimum, that no public, separate or francophone school authority receives a reduction in funding in the current or subsequent years as a result of a decline in the student count for 2020/21 due to COVID-19 and that increases in enrolment are fully funded.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

Assembly resolutions

4-1/20
Edmonton Public Teachers
Be it resolved that the Association urge the Government of Alberta and the Ministry of Education to actively engage the Association and teachers in curriculum development as they are both subject-matter and pedagogical experts in curriculum matters.

4-2/20
Calgary Public Teachers
Be it resolved that the Central Table Bargaining Committee immediately engage the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association for the purposes of negotiating new provisions for the payment of quarantine pay for substitute teachers.