On October 25, 2018, the Minister of Education introduced Bill
48, Safe and Supportive Classrooms Act, 2018. Most of the
media coverage of Bill 48 has focused on the proposed amendments
that would expand the definition of sexual abuse and require
mandatory revocation of educators' certificates for any acts of
sexual abuse.
Bill 48, however, also contains proposed amendments to the
Education Act that would authorize the Minister of
Education to establish policies and guidelines respecting service
animals in schools. School boards would be required to follow these
guidelines and to create their own policies to support students
with special needs who require service animals by September
2019.1