 |
Population: 5,214,805 Number of K-12 Schools: 1,945 Number of K-12 Students: ~677,000 . Number of K-12 Distance Learning Programs: 71 Number of K-12 Distance Learning Students: 73,744 |
Note that these profiles are taken from the most recent edition of the report, please review additional annual profiles below.
Governance and Regulation
Historically, the Ministry of Education had regulated distributed learning (i.e., a term used to include both distance and online learning) through legislative language in section 3.1 and section 75 (4.1) of the School Act, 2006, as well as section 8.1 of the Independent School Act, 2006. Both pieces of legislation contain similar language concerning the establishment of distributed learning schools “only with the prior agreement of the Minister” and ensuring that students may exercise their rights under legislation to choose distributed learning instruction within a coordinated province-wide distributed learning system. Districts and independent school authorities that entered into an agreement with the Ministry are required to meet a variety of criteria to be approved and funded.
A transformation of online learning delivery in the province began in 2018 with the appointment of an independent panel to review and provide recommendations to the way funding is allocated in the K-12 public education system. This process culminated in the passage of the Education Statutes Amendment Act, 2020 or Bill 8 on March 4, 2020. Bill 8 changed distributed learning in the School Act and the Independent School Act in three key ways:
- changed the term “distributed learning” to “online learning;”
- enabled School Districts and Independent School Authorities to offer online learning courses and programs to some students without an agreement with the Minister
- required online learning schools to have an agreement with the Minister in order to enrol students from outside their district boundary (i.e.: out-of-district enrolment) or to enrol students who are simultaneously enrolled with another board or independent school authority (i.e., cross enrolment). (Government of British Columbia, 2020)
Bill 8 was fully enacted on July 1, 2021 marking an “interim” year that began in 2021-22. The former distributed learning policies were replaced by interim online learning policies that will be in effect until June 30, 2023. The 68 online learning schools that held Minister’s Agreements under the distributed learning policy were issued interim Agreements for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years. These schools may continue to cross enrol and/or register out of district students (while also serving local, in-District students) until April 30, 2023. In 2021-22, three public online learning schools closed, and three new District Online Learning Schools (DOLS) were established. These new schools did not require Minister’s Agreements.
In 2021-22, there were 21 public online learning schools operated by 18 boards and 16 independent online learning schools operated by 16 authorities selected to become Provincial Online Learning Schools. The Ministry continues to work with sector partners and Indigenous Rightsholders to develop a single, comprehensive online learning policy and procedures guide, a governance framework for provincial online learning schools, and an accountability and quality assurance framework and process for online learning.
These regulatory changes also include updates to the funding mechanism. Funding for online learning schools is somewhat different from traditional brick-and-mortar schools. In brick-and-mortar schools, full-time K-12 students are funded one time in September at 100% for a program of studies. In online learning schools, there are variations because online learning affords students options such as continuous and cross-enrolment. Another factor is the School of Record (SOR), which is the school at which a student is taking the majority of their courses. For example, with respect to online learning students:
Kindergarten-grade 7: have three funding opportunities depending on when the student meets eligibility requirements:
- September (30th): online learning schools receive 100% of per pupil funding
- February: online learning schools receive 50% of per pupil funding
- May: online learning schools receive 33% of per pupil funding.
Grades 8-9 (full-time): the SOR is funded as above
Grades 8-9 (cross-enrolled): the cross-enrolling online learning school (not SOR) is funded per enrolled online course(s) in July of the following year at the per course summer school rate.
Grades 10-12: funded per enrolled course and can receive 100% funding in September, February, or May.
During the 2021-22 school year, the basic allocation per student (i.e., full-time equivalent or FTE) attending a public brick-and-mortar school was $7,885 vs. $6,360 per public online learning student. Group 1 independent schools receive 50% of the public online learning per student amount (i.e., all independent online learning schools in the province have Group 1 Certification).
K-12 Distance and Online Learning Activity
The Ministry tracks student enrolment through the 1701 data collections that occur in September, February, and May. These collections show the schools attended along with the demographic characteristics of students, and programs provided to students. In 2021-22 there were a total of 71 online learning schools comprised of 55 district-level public distributed learning schools and 16 independent distributed learning schools that enrolled approximately 73,744 unique students in one or more courses.
In addition to programming provided by the 71 public and independent online learning schools, Open School BC also provided provincial content and online hosting services on a cost-recovery model to school districts lacking the capacity or desire to manage their own distributed learning program. Finally, the Western Canadian Learning Network is a consortium of school districts providing online courses and digital resources for use by distributed learning schools in British Columbia, as well as Alberta and the Yukon.
K-12 Blended Learning Activity
As online learning is defined as primarily online and/or at a distance, there is implicit acknowledgement of the existence of blended learning in the province. Both online learning and in-person schools are able to offer blended programs. However, the Ministry of Education does gather data on separate blended learning program enrolment.
Remote Learning
Fall 2021 Reopening
Schools in British Columbia went back in-person for the 2021-22 school year. This plan did not include cohort learning groups or physical distancing, but did include mandatory masking. A distance learning model (or homeschooling option), either through the public school districts or independent online schools, was available to students who chose to stay home. However, these students would no longer be affiliated with their neighbourhood school. Students in grades 8-12 could still enrol in a school for in-person learning while taking some distance courses. Any actions due to health orders that might affect schools or school districts was left to the individual schools and districts, in conjunction with health officials, to implement any further health and safety restrictions (e.g., a return to remote learning). School programs (e.g., music and physical education, assemblies, and sports) continued with extra health and safety precautions (LaBonte et al., 2021).
2021-22 School Year
As the new school year progressed, school closures for COVID outbreaks continued and the province maintained its mask mandate for all indoor spaces for grade 4-12 students, later expanded to grades 1-3 October 4. The province relaxed capacity limits in most regions other than those with low vaccination and higher transmission rates. Schools remained open to in-person learning until the return to school from December holidays when, due to increasing community spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, school reopening was delayed until January 10, 2022, however schools were open January 4 as planned for children of essential workers and children with special needs. Schools used the time to implement enhanced safety plans and prepare for a possible return to remote learning given the community spread of the virus and potential staff shortages. February saw the gradual release of community restrictions across Canada and the BC government allowed the resumption of sport tournaments for children and youth while beginning the distribution of rapid antigen test kits on February 1. The mask requirement for everyone, including school students and staff, was relaxed on March 11 (LaBonte et al., 2022).
References
Government of British Columbia. (2020). Education Statutes Amendment Act, 2020. https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/bills/billsprevious/5th41st:gov08-1
LaBonte, R., Barbour, M. K., & Mongrain, J. (2022). Teaching during times of turmoil: Ensuring Continuity of learning during school closures. Canadian eLearning Network. https://canelearn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Teaching-During-Times-of-Turmoil.pdf
LaBonte, R., Barbour, M. K., & Nagle, J. (2021). Pandemic pedagogy in Canada: Lessons from the first 18 months. Canadian eLearning Network. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gaNFXDCt44W9DaAC9iRAf33pDTKup2C8/view
Previous Provincial Profiles
History of K-12 E-Learning
K-12 distance education in Canada began in British Columbia in 1919, when the province began offering correspondence education to students living in isolated parts of the province (Toutant, 2003). This centralized system of correspondence education continued until 1984, when the province began to establish the first of nine regional correspondence schools (Dunae, 1997-2008). K-12 online learning began in British Columbia in 1993, with the introduction of New Directions in Distance Learning and the EBUS Academy. By 1994, the responsibility for distance education had largely shifted to individual school districts. Over the past two decades, both public district-based and independent online learning programs have proliferated considerable. Winkelmans, Anderson, and Barbour (2010) provide a comprehensive history of the development of K-12 distance education and e-learning in the province.
References
Dunae, P. A. (1997-2008). Correspondence education. The Homeroom. Nanaimo, BC: Vancouver Island University. Retrieved from https://www2.viu.ca/homeroom/content/topics/programs/corresp.htm
Toutant, T. S. (2003). Equality by mail: Correspondence education in British Columbia, 1919 to 1969. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. University of Victoria, Victoria, BC
Winkelmans, T., Anderson, B., & Barbour, M. K. (2010). Distributed learning in British Columbia: A journey from correspondence to online delivery. Journal of Open, Flexible and Distance Learning, 14(1), 6-28. Retrieved from http://journals.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/index.php/JOFDL/article/viewFile/29/26
Vignettes
- Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique’s new À la carte blended model (2022)
- Collaboration at the Forefront of the Western Canadian Learning Network Society (2018)
- BC Teachers’ Federation Task Force On Distributed Learning Recommends On The Work Of DL Teachers (2017)
- Abbotsford Virtual School (2016)
- The British Columbia Distributed Learning Administrators’ Association (2013)
- Educators for Distributed Learning (Provincial Specialists Association of the British Columbia Teachers Federation) (2012)
- Vancouver Learning Network Secondary (2010)
- Virtual School Society (2009) [No longer exists]
- Northern BC Distance Education School (2009)
Brief Issue Papers
- Online Learning Changes in British Columbia (2022)
- The Story of StudyForge (2016)
- BC Teachers’ Federation Research on the Work of Distributed Learning Teacher (2013)
- British Columbia’s International Online Learning Initiative (2012)
- The Development of Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning (2012)
- Distributed Learning Funding in British Columbia (2011)
- Independent Schooling in British Columbia (2011)
- British Columbia’s Quality Framework for Distributed Learning (2010)
Individual Program Survey Responses
| Program | Most recent response | Medium | # of Students | # of Teachers | # of Courses |
| Abbotsford Virtual School avs34.com |
2018-19 | Online Blended |
2,900 online 40 blended |
16 full time 6 part time 14 blended |
95 online 55 blended |
| Anchor Academy www.ark.net/ |
2018-19 | Online Correspondence |
872 | 30 full time 5 part time |
114 (gr. 10-12) full K-9 program |
| ASCEND Online www.ascendonline.ca |
2021-22 | Online Correspondence |
542 | 17 full time 12 part time |
~50 (gr. 10-12) full K-9 program |
| Bulkley Valley Education Connection www.schoolius.com/school/1507332162859575/ Bulkley+Valley+Education+Connection |
2019-20 | Online Blended |
600 supplemental 16 elementary 45 blended |
2 full time 1 part time |
45 (gr. 10-12) full K-9 program |
| Burnaby Online Program online.burnabyschools.ca |
2019-20 | Online | 2,200 (2018-19) | 7 full time 8 part time |
70 secondary full K-7 program |
| Choices DL sd70.bc.ca/school/cdl |
2016-17 | Online Correspondence Blended |
200 FTE distance* 60% students blended |
4 full time all blended |
40 grades 8-12 full K-7 program |
| Christian Homelearners eStreams www.estreams.ca |
2017-18 | Online Correspondence |
200 | 7 full time 3 part time |
some grades 10-12 full K-9 program |
| Coquitlam Open Learning www.sd43.bc.ca/col/Pages/landing.aspx |
2016-17 | Online Correspondence Blended |
~2,500 distance | 7 full time 18 part time 3 blended |
35+ distance 3 blended |
| Creston Homelinks homelinks.sd8.bc.ca |
2016-17 | Online Correspondence Blended |
130.5 FTE distance* 130.5 FTE blended* |
3 full time 3 part time 6 blended |
42 secondary full K–9 program |
| Delta Access www.deltasd.bc.ca/content/programs/deltaaccess |
2022-23 | Online | ~125 FTE | 17 part time | 47 |
| Distance Education School of the Kootenays desk.sd8.bc.ca |
2015-16 | Online Correspondence Blended |
1,000 distance 14 blended |
5 full time 3 part time 1 blended |
33 distance 1 blended |
| Diversity by Design DL Academy diversitybydesign.ca |
2012-13 | Online Correspondence |
100 | 2 full time 7 part time |
~80 |
| Ebus Academy ebus.ca |
2021-21 | Online | ~1100 FTE | 46 full time 5 part time |
~137 |
| École Virtuelle CSF ecolevirtuelle.csf.bc.ca/ |
2014-15 | Online Blended |
204 online 12 blended |
6 part time online 1 full time blended |
19 online 1 blended |
| Education Outreach Program eopmoodle.sd83.bc.ca/ |
2017-18 | Online | ~500 | 2 full time 2 part time |
108 |
| eSchoolBC www.eSchoolBC.com |
2017-18 | Online Blended |
3,000 online 3,000 blended |
6 full time 6 part time 6 blended |
60 online 10 blended |
| Fraser Valley Distance Education School www.fvdes.com |
2012-13 | Online Correspondence |
~3,500 | 30 full time 1 part time |
~150 |
| The Grove (Cowichan Valley Distributed Learning) www.cowichanopenlearning.ca/dl.html |
2019-20 | Correspondence Online Blended |
125 full time (K-9) 50 FTE (gr. 10-12) distance 125 blended |
6 full time 2 part time 3 blended |
~60 secondary 125 K–9 program |
| Hands-On Home-Learning oakandorca.ca/handson/index.html |
2014-15 | Correspondence (PDFs) | 82 | 12 part time | |
| Heritage Christian Online School www.onlineschool.ca |
2021-22 | Online Correspondence Blended |
6,775 distance 1,108 blended |
69 full time 128 part time 97 blended |
~430 distance 75+ blended |
| Home Learners Program at Hume Park humepark.ca |
2020-21 | Online Correspondence |
139 | 2 full time 3 part time |
full K-9 program |
| Home Quest homequest.deltasd.bc.ca/home |
2021-22 | Online | 150 | 5 full time | full K-9 program |
| Island ConnectEd K-12 island-connected.sd68.bc.ca/ |
2020-21 | Online Correspondence Blended |
3,515 | 42 full time 5 part time |
full K-9 program 65 secondary |
| Juan de Fuca Distributed Learning jdfdl.web.sd62.bc.ca/ |
2015-16 | Online Correspondence |
2,800 distance 1200 blended |
8 full time 22 part time 23 blended |
55 distance 26 blended |
| Kamloops Open Online Learning kool.sd73.bc.ca |
2018-19 | Online Blended |
2,500 distance 500 blended |
3 full time 25 part time 20 blended |
140 distance 60 blended |
| Key Learning Centre – NBCDES www.keylearning.ca |
2019-20 | Online Correspondence Blended |
425 FTE (2,800 head count) 12 blended |
5 full time 2 part time 1 blended |
130+ secondary full K–7 program K-1 blended |
| Kleos Open Learning www.kleos.ca |
2020-21 | Online Correspondence |
375 distance | 20 full time 7 part time |
K–12 |
| Kootenay Discovery School www.sd5.bc.ca/school/kds/Pages/default.aspx |
2020-21 | Online Blended |
100 online 75 blended |
3 full time 3 part time 3 blended |
72 |
| Live It Earth www.liveit.earth |
2022 | Online Blended |
40,000 | 1 full time 3 part time |
20 |
| Navigate (NIDES) navigatenides.com/ |
2021-22 | Online Blended |
11,700 distance 1,035 blended |
67 full time 43 part time 73 blended |
122 secondary full K–9 program |
| Next Step Outreach Program www.nextstepoutreach.com/ |
2017-18 | Online Correspondence Blended |
400 online 400 blended |
1 full time 1 blended |
20 online 20 blended |
| North Coast Distance Education School ncdes.ca |
2012-13 | Online Correspondence |
~3,400 | 8 full time | 65 |
| North Vancouver Distributed Learning School www.sd44.ca/school/distributed/Pages/default.aspx |
2016-17 | Online Correspondence Blended |
~3,000 distance ~550 blended |
8 full time 15 part time 6 blended |
57 distance 3 blended |
| Partners in Education www.sd47.bc.ca/school/pie/Pages/default.aspx |
2019-20 | Online Correspondence |
673 | 6 full time 14 part time |
100+ |
| Pathways Academy www.pathwaysacademy.ca |
2019-20 | Online Correspondence |
266 | 6 full time 12 part time |
|
| Quesnel Distributed Learning School qdlonline.com |
2015-16 | Online Correspondence Blended |
150 online 35 blended |
2 full time 1 part time 1 blended |
25 online 16 blended |
| Regent Christian Online Academy (RCOA) www.rcoa.ca |
2021-22 | Online Blended |
1,106 online ~900 blended |
10 full time 85 part time 51 blended |
69 secondary online full K-9 program online/blended half secondary program blended |
| Richmond Virtual School RichmondVirtualSchool.ca |
2020-21 | Online Blended |
400 online 1,600 blended |
18 full time 1 part time 30 blended |
6 online 20 blended |
| Rocky Mountain Distributed Learning School getsmartbc.ca |
2015-16 | Online | ~350 | 3 full time | 75 |
| Sea to Sky Online School www.seatoskyonline.com |
2020-21 | Online Blended |
650 distance ~1,000 blended |
3 full time 2 part time 1 blended |
~50 distance 1 blended |
| SelfDesign Learning Community www.selfdesign.org |
2021-22 | Online | 2056 | 65 | |
| South Central Interior Distance Education School www.scides.ca/ |
2021-22 | Online Correspondence |
1,152 FTE | 7 full time 5 part time |
full K-8 program 108 secondary |
| South Island Distance Education School www.sides.ca/en.html |
2022-23 | Online | 3,700 students | 26 full time 12 part time |
>60 |
| South Peace Distributed Learning dcss.sd59.bc.ca/spc/spdl |
2015-16 | Online Correspondence |
55 FTE* | 1 full time 4 part time |
16 |
| Surrey Academy of Innovative Learning www.sailacademy.ca |
2016-17 | Online Correspondence Blended |
~2,000 distance | 21 full time 300+ blended |
80+ |
| Traditional Learning Academy www.schoolathome.ca |
2019-20 | Online Correspondence Blended |
1,200 distance 200 blended |
40 full time 35 part time 18 blended |
80 distance 22 blended |
| Valley Christian School DL www.valleychristianschool.ca/ |
2020-21 | Online | 23 | 8 full time 1 part time |
full K-8 |
| Vancouver Learning Network vlns.ca/ |
2016-17 | Online Correspondence |
~5,000 | 8 full time 31 part time |
~90 |
| Vernon Virtual Learning vlearn.ca |
2017-18 | Online Correspondence Blended |
1,200 distance (248 FTE) 70 blended |
7 full time 5 part time |
72 secondary & 80 elementary (distance) 5 blended |
| vLearn Personalized Education sd22.bc.ca/vlearn/ |
2020-21 | Online | 400 full time 2,000 part time |
12 full time 18 part time |
200 |
| West Coast Adventist School DL www.wcasdl.ca |
2022-23 | Online | 75 full time 200+ part time |
2 full time 4 part time |
152 |
| YouLearn.ca youlearn.ca |
2016-17 | Online Correspondence |
630 | 6 full time 3 part time |
48 |
* Full-time equivalents, not the total number of students.
To update this information, visit http://tinyurl.com/sotn-program-survey
Inter-provincial and International
If a student in British Columbia took a course from an online program in another province or territory, or even in another country, the student would present him/herself at a local school or distributed learning school and request either equivalency for a credential earned in another jurisdiction or permission to challenge a course for credit based on prior learning or experience. The Ministry’s policy is to allow each school to have their own procedures to guide this process.
At present there is only one school district business company (i.e., SD73 Business Company) that has an agreement with the Ministry to offer distributed learning content to non-resident students. The Business Company is owned by the Kamloops-Thompson School District No.73 but operates at an arms-length and is not able to grant British Columbia credits. A non-resident student who completes a course through the SD73 Business Company would have to go through the process of receiving credit for the student’s course based on the guidelines established in the student’s own jurisdiction, or the BC jurisdiction they register to study in as an international student.
Additionally, there are a few distributed learning programs that have specific agreements in place to serve students in a given jurisdiction. For example, the Northern British Columbia Distance Education School can serve students in the Yukon by special arrangement. The Yukon Department of Education is responsible for recognizing those credits (although the Yukon does follow the British Columbia K-12 curriculum).