UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 19, 2025

SCHOOL BOARD TRUSTEE CANDIDATE FORUMS: We have compiled a list of school board trustee candidate forums that are open to the public to attend. If you are aware of any additional forums, please email us  at info@inclusionalberta.org and we will add it to the list. Check out the list of school board trustee forums here.

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With school board trustee elections fast approaching (October 20, 2025), now is a critical time for families to raise their voices in support of inclusive education.  

At Inclusion Alberta, we encourage families to engage with school board trustee candidates to ask where they stand on inclusive education and what actions they plan to take. Whether you meet a candidate at your door, at a community event, or choose to reach out by email, this is a valuable opportunity to advocate for your child and for all students with intellectual disabilities.  

Even a candidate’s non-response is worth nothing and sharing with your networks. Posting responses on social media, or simply passing them along to other families, helps to create accountability and awareness.  

Trustees shape policies and allocate budgets that affect how inclusive education is implemented. Their choices play a key role in ensuring students with intellectual disabilities are meaningfully included and equitably supported.  By asking the right questions, families can: 

• Make informed decisions. 

• Help shape candidates’ understanding of inclusive education. 

• Begin a relationship with a future trustee, setting the stage for conversations that can influence school board priorities for years to come. 

Why this matters 

Inclusive education means that students with intellectual disabilities attend their neighbourhood or chosen school, in a regular classroom, alongside their non-disabled same-age peers, access grade-level curriculum (with adaptations and modifications as needed), and are fully included in all aspects of school life. 

Some schools in Alberta and entire school divisions ensure that parents can choose to access high-quality inclusive education for students with intellectual disabilities. However, the valid choice of parents who request an inclusive education is not always honoured. Access to quality inclusive education remains a yearly struggle for thousands of families; many are outright denied, while others live in fear that a new teacher or principal may refuse to continue their child’s inclusion. In some cases, students are offered only partial school days, sent to segregated classrooms, or excluded during staffing shortages. The fact that one school in a division can honour the choice of an inclusive education while another in the same division will deny it demonstrates the availability of  inclusive education  is a function of leadership and values, not of funding.   

In many cases parents and educators who assume segregated classes are the only solution to meeting diverse students’ needs have never seen a school authority that fully dedicates its teaching staff, consultants and other resources to inclusive rather than segregated classes. Over 45 years of research, backed up by the experience of Alberta educators who’ve implemented inclusive education for as many years, shows that inclusive education leads to stronger academic and social outcomes; for students with and without disabilities. It’s time every school division in Alberta made this the standard, not the exception. 

Differences in school division policies and approaches across Alberta extend beyond honouring parental choice for an inclusive education. While 48 public and Catholic school divisions have chosen not to use seclusion rooms, 11 divisions continue to do so. This is despite clear evidence indicating that seclusion is harmful to students with disabilities and that there are safe, evidence-based alternatives available. 

In the absence of a commitment from the provincial government to ensure equitable access to inclusive education and to eliminate the practice of seclusion, trustees can lead change with policies, targets and budgets that ensure inclusive education is offered and all students are safe and equitably supported. 

What you can do 

1. Find out who is running. We’ve collected many (not all) email addresses for candidates running for public or separate (Catholic) school boards. Download the list of public school board trustee candidates here, and separate (Catholic) school board trustee candidates here. You can also find local school board trustee candidates listed on the elections page of your local municipal government. If candidate contact information is not posted there, you may need to search for it on candidates’ webpages or social media accounts.  
2. Talk to trustee candidates in person. Whether at your doorstep, a local event, or town hall – take a moment to ask questions.  
3. Reach out by email. Ask candidates to share their positions on inclusive education in writing. Click this link for a template you can use when contacting candidates.
4. Share what you learn. Consider using your social media or share candidate responses with fellow families – even non-responses send a message. 
5. Invite candidates to learn more
   Use our template here to invite candidates to an information session. Inclusion Alberta is inviting all candidates for school boards in Alberta to attend an online session on October 9, open only to trustee candidates, to learn about the educational research supporting inclusive education for students with intellectual disabilities, the barriers families face when they choose inclusion, and the actions trustees can take to advance inclusion. Please mention to candidates that it’s important that they attend this session so that they can represent and advocate for students with intellectual disabilities and their families. 
6. Vote on October 20 or at an advance poll. 

Key questions to ask trustee candidates 

Below are some important questions you may want to ask school board trustee candidates, whether in person, at events, or by email.  

We recommend choosing 3 of the questions below to focus on in your conversations. Select the ones that feel most relevant to your experience or your concerns. Every question helps highlight the importance of inclusive education and encourages candidates to think critically about their roles in making it a reality.  

Parental Choice
The Education Act protects a parent’s right to choose the kind of education their child receives, yet families of children with intellectual disabilities seeking an inclusive education often have that choice denied.
Q: As a trustee, will you ensure the choice for my child to be included in the regular classroom with supports is honoured? 

Parents as Partners
Parents must be respected as equal partners in decision-making. Too often, parents are left out or unheard.
Q: What will you do to ensure parents of children with intellectual disabilities are engaged and respected partners in school meetings and decisions regarding our children? 

Equitable Resources
Funding must be allocated based on the principle that every child is of equal value.
Q: What are your plans for ensuring accountability in the equitable allocation of funding to support the learning of all students and particularly those with intellectual disabilities?
Q: Will you commit to providing resources to include children in inclusive settings rather than concentrating all resources in segregated settings? 
Q: How do you plan to ensure teachers have the resources and knowledge to enable children with disabilities to be successful learners in their inclusive classrooms? 

Seclusion and Physical Restraints 

Check if your school division uses seclusion rooms here. If your division has seclusion rooms, ask:
Q: Will you advocate for the division to end the use of seclusion and to limit the use of restraint to situations posing an imminent danger of serious bodily injury, and strengthen the application of positive and proactive approaches? 

If your school division does not have seclusion rooms, ask: 

Q: Will you advocate for the division to limit the use of restraint to situations posing an imminent danger of serious bodily injury, and strengthen the application of positive and proactive approaches? 

Ensuring the right to education of students with disabilities
Children with disabilities are too often subject to shortened school days. Some school divisions have discriminated by excluding only students with disabilities from in-person learning during staffing shortages.
Q: Will you commit to publicly reporting on the number of students on partial days (i.e. schools telling families that supports are not available so their child with intellectual disabilities will be limited to attending a partial school day) and to advocating for an end to this practice that violates the Education Act? 
Q: Will you commit to changing policy so that all contingency plans include provisions to ensure that during staffing shortages, resources are allocated so that all students, regardless of disability, experience the effects equitably? 

General question
Q: What value do you see in including children with intellectual disabilities in regular classrooms?   

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Once you’ve had the conversation or gotten a written response, please let us know what was said by taking two minutes to complete this form.

Thank you for taking action to help make inclusive education a priority in your school division. If you have questions about speaking with trustee candidates or would like support in raising these issues, please contact us at 780-451-3055 or info@inclusionalberta.org.