Understanding the Role of Teachers and EAs

Here are some links to documents that can help clarify roles and expectations. These links can also be helpful with advocacy.

Teachers and EAs share a dual role. (1) To the public and (2) their employers. The tension between these two roles can create frustration and confusion for everyone involved.

  1. Roles and Standards of Teachers and EAs

Here is a document  from the unions of both teachers and EAs that describes the roles of your child’s teacher and the education assistant. Page 5 of this document, interestingly, it states that teachers and EAs share the role “4.4 Advocate for the protection of the legal and human rights of students and their families.”

This document also explains who can communicate what to parents. Although this can be flexible. If you want to communicate with your child’s EA please talk to the school and explain why it’s important that this is an exception. Some schools and districts are more strict than others.

Here are the Teacher’s Standards connected to the Teacher’s Regulation Branch. This is for public school. Using the teacher’s standards can be a very powerful advocacy tool.

Also, keep in mind that unions are involved. Also, your child’s teacher has a fiduciary duty to their employer. 

In their collective agreement that ended June 30th, 2025 on page 89 of the document it states:

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Shared Commitment to Equitable Access to Learning

  1. All students are entitled to equitable access to learning, achievement and the
    pursuit of excellence in all aspects of their education. The Parties are committed
    to providing all students with special needs with an inclusive learning
    environment which provides an opportunity for meaningful participation and the
    promotion of interaction with others. The implementation of this Letter of
    Understanding shall not result in any student being denied access to a school
    educational program, course, or inclusive learning environment unless the
    decision is based on an assessment of the student’s individual needs and
    abilities.
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There are a lot of players involved.

2. Teacher Classroom Autonomy

Q: What is Teacher Classroom Autonomy? 

A: They can make independent decisions around teaching methods and classroom management. 

Please also note that teachers have classroom autonomy; however, Human Rights supersede that! To understand more of how this works, read Part 1 of the Duty to Accommodate – Power of the Human Rights Code.

Teacher classroom autonomy comes from the collective agreements that unions have with their school districts (employers). These are legally binding contracts. ** However the Human Rights Code supersedes that. Their teacher autonomy is not a priority over a child’s accommodations. They may not realize this.

3. Loco Parentis / Duty of care

Teachers also step into the role as a “prudent parent”.

Here is the link for Duty of care. Scroll to page 8.

ID: Duty of care: A well established legal principle that educators are expected to use the same standard of care towards their students – both within the school and on school-sponsored field trips – as a prudent or careful parent would in the same circumstances.

“Traditionally, the teacher was considered to be acting in loco parentis. This means that in relation to the student, the teacher stands in the position of a caring, responsible parent and unofficial guardian.” 

“All teachers have a legal and a professional liability and are governed by the Canadian Criminal Code and the law of torts or civil law in relation to their duty of care for students. Teachers’ professional liability occurs because their profession is governed by the Teaching Profession Act and the Education Act, and their conduct is subject to the Code of Professional Conduct and the general bylaws.”

https://www.teachers.ab.ca/News%20Room/P

4. Co-parenting with the Government

This section is more about the role of education. Public education is a free public service provided by the government. There are public schools that you attend in person (brick and mortar), and there are online learning options.

If you send your child to a public brick-and-mortar school, you do not have 100% control over your child’s education. This is a public service. They have a duty to consult with you; that is it.

You also do not have control over the funding that your child brings into the district.

If you have specific beliefs that do not align with what your child is being taught at school, you can read my blog Co-parenting with the Government.

Extra

** Here is a list of where law, policy and unions all fit together

Law – Human Rights Code – Supersedes teacher classroom autonomy for children with disabilities, they are not allowed to discriminate and must provide reasonable accommodations. 

Law – School Act, Teacher’s Act (by Ministry of Education)

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Employment Contracts – Legally Binding documents

Unions (BCTF) & Contracts – Teacher Classroom Autonomy excists in collective agreements between the unions and the school districts.

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(Policy is not law. Law supersedes policy.)

Provincial Policy – Ministry of Education – They create policies around IEPS, inclusion policies, and Teacher’s Standards, etc.

District Policy – School Board of Education – They create policies and administrative procedures for the school district. Each district has different policies.