The Manitoba government introduced new regulations under the Education Administration Act that change how schools in Churchill and across the province report teacher misconduct and protect student safety.
The Student Safety (Reporting of Misconduct and Public Notification) regulation, introduced on Jan. 15, 2026, requires school divisions to be more transparent about staff discipline that involves the safety of children. Under the new rules, the Frontier School Division must notify parents and the Department of Education without delay when a staff suspension or other discipline relates to student safety. The regulation is intended to end the practice of leaving such disclosures to division-level discretion and to ensure parents in communities such as those served by Duke of Marlborough School are informed.
The reforms also included the launch of a public, searchable teacher registry in January 2026 that allows anyone to look up a teacher’s certification status (active, suspended or cancelled). The province established an independent commissioner to lead reviews of professional conduct — Bobbi Taillefer was named commissioner — shifting the central role in investigations away from local school boards and toward a provincially led review and adjudication process.
Acting Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt, who provided the primary statements accompanying the announcements, said, “There is nothing more important than ensuring that children are safe,” and described the framework as modernizing how the teaching profession is regulated in Manitoba.
The changes followed concerns that parents were not always informed when a staff member was removed or disciplined for safety reasons. As part of the broader safety measures, the province directed that every school undertake a safety review and send those assessments to the Department of Education. The reforms were accompanied by provincial supports for the reviews and training for school staff.
