Local Education Agreements

Local Education Agreements can support accountability and effective working relationships between a First Nation and a school board or between a First Nation and an independent school authority.

As described in the BC Tripartite Education Agreement: Supporting First Nation Student Success  (2018), Canada, BC, and FNESC are committed to improving First Nation student outcomes and acknowledge Local Education Agreements as an important mechanism to increase accountability and to promote and achieve effective working relationships between First Nations and boards of education, enabling them to work collaboratively to support First Nation students.

What is a Local Education Agreement?

Local Education Agreements (LEAs) are formal agreements that strengthen accountability and build effective working relationships between First Nations or Treaty First Nations, school district boards of education and BC public schools. Through LEAs, partners establish clear processes for information-sharing, collaboration, and decision-making to better support their First Nation students’ attendance, learning outcomes, and overall experiences within the public education system. LEAs outline strategies to promote greater student success including expectations related to reporting, transparency, and roles and responsibilities. LEAs are the mechanism through which First Nations transfer federal funding for identified First Nations students to school districts and non-First Nation independent schools.

Options for First Nations

First Nations who have Nominal Roll students enrolled with a Board and do not have a pre-existing LEA may choose to:

  • Apply the Model LEA;
  • Negotiate a custom LEA; or

  • Not have an LEA

Model LEA

Reflecting BC Tripartite Education Agreement commitments, legislative changes set in the School Amendment Act, 2023 allow First Nations the option to apply a Model LEA where there is no existing LEA with a public school board.

The Model LEA is available for implementation. First Nations may use the Model LEA to develop their own custom LEA.

Application of the Model LEA

Under the newly amended sections 86.1 and 86.2 of the School Act, a First Nation with a student(s) on Nominal Roll attending public schools and with no active LEA may, by delivering written notice to the Minister and a board of education, require the Model LEA to apply to their First Nation and the board. Once a First Nation requires the Model LEA to apply, the Model LEA is deemed to be a contract between the First Nation and Board.

FNESC and the Ministry of Education and Child Care developed a template letter (in fillable PDF format, attached) to facilitate the process for a First Nation’s request to apply the Model LEA.

If a First Nation has a Local Education Agreement in place and wants to move to the Model Local Education Agreement, they would need to conclude or terminate the current Local Education Agreement prior to applying the Model LEA. First Nations may use FNESC’s Template letter to Terminate an Existing LEA to facilitate this process.

The Model LEA also serves as an available precedent for a First Nation and a board, if the First Nation and board wish to negotiate their own customized LEA.

Provincial Policy on Local Education Agreements

FNESC and the Ministry of Education and Child Care developed the Local Education Agreement Policy which supports the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan action 1.6, which commits to the co-development of legislation that requires LEAs with First Nations where a First Nation wants one, and that requires the application of the provincial LEA at the request of the First Nation.

LEA Resources

  • The LEA Backgrounder provides general information regarding recent amendments to the School Act related to the Model LEA.

  • The fillable Template Letter and attached Model LEA can be used by a First Nation to request the implementation of the Model LEA.

  • The fillable Template letter to Terminate an Existing LEA can be used by First Nations who have an active LEA and would like to replace it with the Model LEA.

  • The LEA Guiding Principles (draft) apply to the negotiation, interpretation and implementation of LEAs in BC, and are intended to inform legislative and policy review and changes to support LEA development and implementation.

  • Schedule H of the BC Tripartite Education Agreement outlines the BCTEA Parties’ commitments related to LEAs.

  • The School Act Amendments resource includes a compilation of provincial legislation and policies related to LEAs and the Model LEA.

FNESC is currently revising its LEA Toolkit to better align to the current legislation and policy context as well as the application and content of the Model LEA.

For questions regarding LEAs or Model LEAs, please contact FNESC.

See also Transportation, Public Schools and BC School Act Amendments.