AB Bill 6 Education

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Bill 6: Education (Prioritizing Literacy and Numeracy) Amendment Act, 2025 (No. 2)

Bill Sponsor: Nicolaides

Bill Type: Government Bill

Amendments: No

Money Bill: No

Documents: Bill 6

First Reading

November 3, 2025 passed 150

Second Reading

November 6, 2025 adjourned 252-60

November 17, 2025 adjourned 289-98

November 18, 2025 adjourned 337-39

November 18, 2025 adjourned; amendments introduced 341-51

November 24, 2025 adjourned; amendments introduced 455-65

November 25, 2025 passed on division 504-14

Committee of the Whole

December 2, 2025 passed 681-86

Third Reading

December 3, 2025 passed 713-21

Royal Assent

December 11, 2025 outside of House sitting

Comes into Force

on proclamation SA 2025 c19 4/22/2026 5:18 PM

WHO GAINS POWER

  • The Minister gains authority to establish mandatory literacy and numeracy screening assessments for kindergarten to Grade 3 — province-wide
  • The Minister gains the right to collect individualized child and student results from every school board — including private and independent schools
  • The Minister gains broad regulation-making power over how assessments are designed, timed, conducted and reported
  • The Minister can request any additional personal information from boards beyond test results — and boards must comply
  • Early childhood services programs and accredited independent schools are brought under the same assessment framework as public schools

WHO LOSES POWER

  • School boards lose discretion over whether to conduct assessments — they are now mandatory
  • Independent and private schools lose autonomy — they are now subject to the same provincial assessment requirements as public boards
  • Parents lose the ability to opt their child out unilaterally — exemptions are granted by the board, not the parent

WHO GAINS MONEY

  • No direct financial gains identified

WHO LOSES MONEY

  • No direct financial losses identified — but boards will bear administrative costs of conducting, reporting and transmitting assessments

THE CATCH

  • The Minister can collect individualized child results — not just aggregate school or board data — and publish annual reports
  • Exemptions are board-controlled, not parent-controlled — a parent cannot simply opt their child out
  • The Bill applies to all schools including private and independent — no carve-outs
  • The Bill comes into force on proclamation — meaning the government controls the timing of when it takes effect
  • Regulation-making power is broad and largely undefined — the Minister can set the rules for almost every aspect of how this works after the Bill passes