Private School Funding

Many private schools (also referred to as independent schools) in BC receive grants. The provincial government classifies private schools into four classifications - Group 1, 2, 3 and 4. There are a few ways classifications occur for each group. The BC Government highlights one main classification that separates these schools: how many grades they offer. This is because some schools may only enrol primary students (Grades K-3), while others may only enrol students for intermediate grades (Grades 4-9), or the graduation program (Grades 10-12).

To further classify the groups, a comparison takes place between the private school’s average operating cost per student and the school district’s average operating grant amount for each student (see Figure 1). Only schools that classify as Group 1 or 2 are eligible for funding, as they are for non-profit and meet a certain criteria that can be found here https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/administration/legislation-policy/independent-schools/classification-of-independent-schools. Group 3 receives no taxpayer funding and is required to meet very basic independent school requirements. Groups 3 and 4 schools can be for-profit companies. The distinction between Groups 3 and 4 is primarily due to the fact that Group 4 schools consist of international or interprovincial students, must secure $4,000 per student or $100,000 overall - whichever is greater - and follow more regulatory requirements that go beyond Group 3's very basic requirements. For more information regarding group classification, please visit https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/administration/legislation-policy/independent-schools/classification-of-independent-schools.

The figure below shows additional differences between all four groups. Table 4 shows that Group 1 schools have the highest number of students and the most number of schools. Group 3 schools have the lowest number of schools and students.

Figure 1 https://www.cardus.ca/research/education/reports/who-chooses-independent-schools-in-british-columbia-and-why/

The formula to calculate the Group 1 and Group 2 grant amount is as follows: "(LOCAL DISTRICT'S GRANT AMOUNT) X (NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE STUDENTS ENROLLED) X (DESIGNATED PERCENTAGE)." Both Groups 1 and 2 receive a percentage of the local districts per-student grant amount, which can be seen below as:

"Group 1 = 50 percent of the local district's per-student grant amount

Group 2 = 35 percent of the local district's per-student grant amount."

This funding formula is specifically for British Columbia.

Each province in Canada has the jurisdiction and autonomy to set its own policies related to education. Only half of the provinces provide partial funding to private schools. In Quebec, this funding can go up to 60%. In Ontario, private schools receive no government funding. Overall, most Canadian provinces do not provide significant taxpayer dollars to private schools. Their education policies remain highly decentralized as provinces hold the authority to create their own policies.