Minister’s statement on returning to school

Source: British Columbia - Government News
Date: 2026-09-08 14:30:00.0
Tags: [British Columbia, Education, Infrastructure, Public Safety]

British Columbia Minister of Education and Child Care Lisa Beare announced the start of the 2026 K-12 school year alongside the launch of the 'B.C.’s Welcoming Schools' landing page and the expansion of kindergarten-to-Grade-3 reading screenings. The provincial government continues to fund the FeedingFutures school food program across nearly 90% of public schools, re-establishes protected access zones prohibiting protests near K-12 schools, and mandates district-level anti-racism action plans under the Provincial Anti-Racism Action Plan. Background data indicates total K-12 teaching staff has increased by over 22% to 49,442 since 2017, education assistants have grown by over 46% to nearly 17,000, and provincial capital investments have approved more than $7 billion for 250 school capital projects creating nearly 50,000 new student seats.