Alberta school division pulls group Jordan’s Principle application, after changes to criteria Slugline: LJI-AB-JORDANS-PRINCPLE Source: Local Journalism Initiative Published: 09/04/2025 14:05 New item for followed topic: First Nations Category: Spare News Word count: 791 View this item in your account: https://cpnewspro.com/wire?item=urn%3Anewsml%3Alji-api.superdesk.pro%3A2025-04-07T16%3A29%3A56.491580%3A1426f320-11d4-402a-92a8-1444d2bdb75c By Pearl Lorentzen, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeside Leader Pearl Lorentzen Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Peace River School Division has around 30 per cent Indigenous students. Some may receive additional education support through individual Jordan’s Principle grants. However, in the fall of 2024 the division applied for a group grant to support 850 self-identified Indigenous students through a division-wide program. The grant process stalled, with rumblings of changes over the winter. On February 10, Indigenous Services Canada sent a 10-page document with clarifications on criteria. Administration looked at the criteria, says Jeff Thompson, PRSD superintendent. There were a few that would be very difficult for the division to meet, so within a few days of receiving the letter, the division pulled the application. “We’re disappointed for sure,” says Thompson, “because we were hopeful this would be a bit of a game changer for us.” If PRSD’s application had been successful, all self-identifying Indigenous students would have had extra supports. Now, the onus is on individual families to apply for Jordan’s Principle funding. Jordan’s Principal exists to fill gaps in services for First Nations and Inuit people under the age of majority, which may arise because of jurisdictional disputes between the federal and provincial governments. PRSD doesn’t know the number of families that have applied as individuals, says Kristin Dyck, PRSD communications coordinator. This is because the division isn’t involved in making these requests. “We do support families if they have specific educational needs that they are requesting through their individual (Jordan’s Principle) contracts,” adds Dyck. In Alberta, Jordan’s Principle applications for First Nation members are through First Nations Health Consortium (FNHC), which can be contacted through www.abfnhc.com or 1-844-588-8748. FNHC has staff to help with parents the free application. Inuit children receive support through the Inuit Child First Initiative. The Alberta Jordan’s Principle office of Indigenous Services Canada handle this and makes decisions about Jordan’s Principle applications. The number is 1-833-632-4453. Even without the extra money, PRSD is committed to providing quality education, says Thompson. He urges parents who think their child may need extra help to contact their school principal. The division can’t do the Jordan’s Principle application for the family, but may be able to help in other ways. Challenges PRSD hadn’t applied until this year because the application seemed “a monumental task,” says Thompson. However, this year the division had a new staff member who had been successful with a group application for another division. The February 10 announcement included criteria which may have existed before, says Thompson, but which hadn’t been communicated before the application process started and which hadn’t been required for successful applications in the past. “All reasonable criteria,” says Thompson, “but the shift from a looser interpretation of criteria to a much more stringent interpretation,” made the current application untenable for the division. Thompson mentions three criteria. The needs of each student in the application had to be confirmed by a professional such as a pediatrician, speech and language therapist. The division had to prove that it had used all of the money from other sources to try to address the need. The division also needed to have the treaty number of each student and signed permission from each parent for the application. The division has 3,000 students, says Thompson. The PRSD Jordan’s Principle application was for 850 self-identified students across the division, says Dyck. The division doesn’t have treaty numbers for students because its information on Indigenous status is based on self identification. Treaty numbers are important for the application because only registered (or eligible to be registered) First Nations and Inuit members are eligible, not self-identified or Métis students. The need to prove that all other sources of money have been exhausted makes sense on the surface, says Thompson, but on a technical level is basically impossible to prove for every student. The way the division read it was that “you’ve tapped out all of your resources and still haven’t met all their needs.” School divisions don’t make money, says Thompson. They are dependent on government grants. Usually, when a new grant comes along, the division jumps on it and applies. The goal of the PRSD application was to enhance the education for students, says Thompson. PRSD runs schools in Northern Alberta in and around Peace River. Thompson has been with the division since 2017 in various roles. During that time, he says, the school has had between 29 to 30 per cent self-identified Indigenous students. Red Earth Creek School has the highest percentage, with about 60 or 70 per cent Indigenous students. This school has around 100 students. The larger schools in Peace River and Grimshaw have lower percentages but more students. For example, Grimshaw Public School has about 500 students, of which 130 to 140 are Indigenous students. www.lakesideleader.com Regards, The Canadian Press Team Contact us at 1-800-268-8149 or help-aide@mycpnewspro.com Visit https://www.thecanadianpress.com/ for more services from Canada’s trusted news leader.