Public school teachers have until next Friday to submit student progress report cards with marks that date back to the start of the school year, the B.C. Labour Relations Board (LRB) ruled Friday.
After two days of hearings involving the B.C. Teachers' Federation and the BC Public School Employers' Association, the LRB ordered teachers to start preparing report cards immediately.
The ruling requires the report cards to include attendance, letter grades and comments if there have been any significant changes in student progress since the last reporting term. Failing to issue report cards would be considered an illegal strike action, the LRB said.
Friday's ruling could cause disruptions to class schedules next week. As part of their contract, primary teachers in Grades 1-3 are usually are given two days off teaching to produce report cards, while those teaching intermediate Grades 4-7 get one day for that task. Since next Friday is a professional development day, that leaves teachers just four working days to fill out the reports. The pro-D day will not be used for report card writing.
"It is very unrealistic that you'll get a report card that has much thought put into it because there simply is not time to get those reports prepared like a traditional report card," said Matt Pearce, president of the Prince George District Teachers Association. "If they're going to be producing those report cards they'll need those days [away from teaching] presumably next week and it will be very short notice for parents."
School district 57 superintendent Brian Pepper said he won't know if classes will be cancelled for report card writing until Monday, when he plans to meet with administrative staff and issue instructions to school principals.
"I need to see what the Labour Relations Board ruling reads, and then make appropriate decisions based on that," said Pepper. "The usual manner in which report cards are written sometimes involves a fairly lengthy processes, because not only are teachers writing reports, but it also involves principals reading those report cards and signing them prior to distribution."
Secondary school teachers will now have to prepare two separate report cards, one for the entire term of the first semester that ended in January, the other to update progress in the second semester that began in February.
Schools are required to issue three report cards per year. Reports prepared by administrators and issued in November had very little information beyond student attendance.
The LRB has also been asked to rule on a written request from the BCTF to reject the appointment of Charles Jago as mediator in the dispute because the teachers' union considers Jago to be biased.
While mediation has to go ahead in advance of the LRB ruling, Pearce said Jago is available for only one day in April. Beyond that date, he will not be free to meet with the two parties until the third week of May. After that, Jago would have just six weeks left to gather his non-binding recommendations in advance of the June 30 deadline to produce a negotiated agreement.
