Funding Info
- Funding level for the 2016-17 academic year remains the same as last year at $835.40 per student.
- A lot of hard work and advocacy by both our school and ourselves has resulted in the major funding issues and clawbacks from last year being resolved and returned.
- Paying close attention to what the government did, we are pleased to announce that they essentially followed the guideline we have had in place for several years. Parents can confidently use our Educational Expenses Guidelines when making plans for the next academic year (assuming of course that no reinterpretation is retroactively applied, as in the past).
- The biggest funding news is with respect to the proper delivery of blended programming. This news only affects us by demonstrating that by avoiding alignment with government programming, we are likely the only home education agency to NOT be affected by this latest government decree. Please read on.
A Warning to Parents using Blended Programs
The increased levels of funding for doing blended programs at home have never really been appropriate as only the home education funding is allowed to be delivered to parents. This means that the maximum parents can receive for a 50% blended program will now be $417.70. Any offering above this amount is questionable and subject to government retrieval.
Home education providers who have been dependent on blended programming for additional government funding will benefit even more IF they can convince parents to continue with the reduced funding. That is, the government will continue to fund blended programs as in the past, but schools are prohibited from offering any money outside of the home education funding which increases their bottom line.
Parents involved in or considering a blended program are cautioned to demand a clear explanation of what is involved with a blended program and to obtain an honest explanation of how much money is involved and where it comes from.
- We believe that minimum funding provides the maximum freedom in home education.
The Current Blended Programming Financial Scandal
- You can continue to trust Education Unlimited to tell you the truth, even in the face of opposition from within Alberta’s home education community.
Léo Gaumont, the Director of Education Unlimited, has been sounding the alarm about blended programming for many years, inviting a lot of opposition for doing so. He identified at least three major problems with blended programs.
First, the school portion of the program requires the use of the Alberta Programs of Study which is based on a secular worldview. Thus students involved in blended programming would not be receiving a Bible-based education in keeping with the purpose of traditional, Christian home education.
Second, there were many cases where parents were not fully informed by providers of the terms of blended programs and that the government required the school provided portion to follow the Alberta Programs of Study, entirely delivered by a certificated teacher using approved resources. Even though some of the extra funding associated with this programming was offered to parents as an incentive to remain in blended programming (often to be reclaimed through various fees and charges), providers profited greatly from its use.
The third, and of greatest concern, was that the entire Blended Program was based on what Léo knew was a false assumption regarding funding. To make a long story short, home education funding comes with the stipulation that half of the funds be made available to parents for the purchase of education supplies and services. Even though there was no stipulation that school based funding also be made available, every provider of home education made additional funding available to parents in exchange for agreeing to follow a blended program. It must be made abundantly clear that this provision of extra funds was never in the best interest of parents or students, but as an incentive to help providers access much more money. It is also important to understand that the additional funding incentives were needed as few parents would agree to more work, less control and more accountability for less money than that provided through a traditional home education program.
Blended Programming Correction
In May of this year, the Department of Education finally took action. Dr. Curtis Clarke, the Deputy Minister of Education, sent a memo to school authorities reminding them that parents can only be reimbursed for the home education portion, not for the other components of blended programs. The Department could also “recover” (or claw- back) funding that was used improperly (See the Deputy Education Minister's letter to school authorities).
The Department of Education is to be commended and criticized. It is to be commended for enforcing its own regulations that were widely being ignored by most blended program providers. But it is also to be criticized for taking so many years to get to this point.
As a consequence of this development, a number of home education providers involved in blended programming are facing major claw-backs and serious financial issues because they can no longer “buy” parents with greater offerings of funds.
Léo Gaumont has been the only home education leader in Alberta who has been consistently warning parents against blended programming. The current blended program scandal confirms what he has been saying for many years. Since Education Unlimited has always and consistently avoided using all government programming and accreditation within a traditional home education program, being vigilant in warning parents to avoid the curricular and ethical pitfalls involved in using such programming, Education Unlimited is not embroiled or affected in this current crackdown on blending programming.
- You can continue to trust Education Unlimited to tell you the truth, even in the face of opposition from within Alberta’s home education community.