Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides says the ‘bill reflects that schools should teach students how to think, not what to think.’Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Alberta is introducing legislation to remove “ideology” from classrooms by prohibiting teachers and school boards from making political or social statements outside their purview and ensuring schools can display no flags but those of Canada and Alberta, with some possible exemptions, among other measures.
Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides introduced the bill, titled “An Act to Remove Politics and Ideology from Classrooms and Amend the Education Act, 2026,” on Tuesday.
The wide-ranging bill also includes measures to give parents more say over their children’s education, establishes principles for school trustee codes of conduct and requires ministerial authority for naming or renaming school buildings.
At a press conference Tuesday, Mr. Demetrios said the legislation is needed to ensure that classrooms are impartial learning environments where no one political position is presented as right or wrong.
“This bill reflects that schools should teach students how to think, not what to think,” he said.
Premier Danielle Smith’s government has enacted multiple policies intended as guardrails for Alberta youth over the past few years. In 2024, it amended the Education Act to require that parents opt in before students under 16 are taught about gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality. It also required guardians to be notified about the use of students’ preferred pronouns and names, and to provide consent in the case of students under 16.
Last summer, Mr. Nicolaides announced that schools would be required to remove any material identified as explicit sexual content from classrooms and libraries by the fall. The province was then in the midst of a labour dispute with Alberta teachers, who walked off the job for three weeks that fall. The 51,000 teachers were forced to end the strike after the United Conservative Party government used the notwithstanding clause on back-to-work legislation at the end of October. The book ban faced widespread criticism and was ultimately revised to target only visual depictions of sexual acts.
Opinion: When authorities ban books, we all lose
The extended powers in Tuesday’s bill signal a conservative government fed up with what it sees as the politicization of schools across the province and wanting to return to an emphasis on students learning reading, writing, math and other core areas of knowledge along with critical thinking. But it may silence teachers afraid of running afoul of the government, said Carla Peck, a professor of social-studies education at the University of Alberta.
“This will have a chilling effect on [teachers], especially social-studies teachers,” Prof. Peck said. “Teachers will be very nervous about what they’re going to be allowed to say or use as materials or bring up in the classroom.”
Amanda Chapman, the Alberta NDP’s education critic, said schools in the province are already providing a balanced viewpoint and teachers imposing ideology on students is not a “big concern” raised by parents.
“It’s not at all clear to me what is meant by ideology, and what ideology it is exactly that the minister is trying to scrub from our schools with this legislation,” she said.
Prof. Peck said the bill is an attempt to silence progressive politics in schools.
“This to me is about partisanship, trying to get rid of left-wing, progressive ideologies,” she said.
But Mr. Nicolaides said the bill will help ensure that classrooms are free from bias.
“It will reinforce expectations that classrooms support respectful discussions and foster diverse viewpoints. It will also require education programming to be neutral, fair and free from personal bias,” he said.
Alberta invokes notwithstanding clause on three bills affecting trans and gender-diverse youth
The act also promises to amend the Education Act to establish provincial oversight rules for flags at schools. These will allow only for the display of the Canadian flag and Alberta flag, with exemptions for flags related to Alberta’s heritage and school culture and activities.
The legislation will also require schools to play the national anthem at least once a week.
“These requirements reinforce the importance of shared civic symbols that unite students, that unite families and communities as Albertans and Canadians,” Mr. Nicolaides said.
Public school boards will be required to get ministerial approval for naming or renaming school buildings owned by the boards.
The minister will also have more control over other matters currently in the hands of school boards, including approving the employment contracts of superintendents and the use of underused school buildings.
The bill also enables the minister to set provincial strategic priorities for school authorities.
“Ensuring that we provide a higher degree of transparency and accountability, I think, will help ensure that our education system continues to deliver a world-class education,” Mr. Nicolaides said.
Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, the union representing more than 51,000 teachers and school administrators in the province’s public, separate and francophone school divisions, said government must work with the association to implement the changes proposed in the bill.
“Before any regulations are implemented in our schools, the Association needs to be consulted, which it has not been so far. The Association expects to be an engaged partner so that we can bring real-world classroom perspectives to the government’s plans for education,” he said in a statement.