P.E.I. minister orders schools to update hiring policies; Opposition calls for faster process

File photo of a chair on a desk in an Alberta classroom. (CTV News Edmonton)

Prince Edward Island is ordering its two school districts to update or develop new policies around staff employment that “meet the requirement of assuring the safety of students.”

A new directive from Robin Croucher, minister of Education and Early Years, says the Public Schools Branch and la Commission scolaire de langue française must have the new and updated policies in place by Sept. 1, 2026.

“This new ministerial directive is a necessary step in ensuring that policies and procedures clearly define requirements and expectations for those responsible for making employment decisions and for those working in our public school system,” Croucher said in a news release. “I am optimistic that this clarity will strengthen the safeguards we have in place to uphold safety in Island schools.”

The new and updated policies will require:

• satisfactory criminal record checks prior to employment and updated checks on a rotational basis
• satisfactory vulnerable sector checks prior to employment
• employment checks
• annual offence declarations
• immediate disclosures

In a joint statement, Liberal Leader Robert Mitchell and MLA Carolyn Simpson said the directive only applies to permanent staff.

“Given the nature of the incidents that have come to light as of late, we are calling on the Minister to extend this directive to temporary staff, substitutes, and anyone working or volunteering with the school system,” they said. “Criminal record and vulnerable sector checks should be conducted annually for anyone working or volunteering with children. Continuous vetting must be standard in our education system.”

Mitchell and Simpson also said they are concerned with the timeline to implement the policy changes.

“Nearly an entire school year will pass before these protocols are fully implemented,” they said. “Safety cannot be scheduled for next year nor revisited only every three years thereafter. This process must begin immediately.”

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