Four options available for online learning in 2023-24 school year

For those who want to pursue online education in the 2023-24 school year, there are four options available in Saskatchewan.

According to the Ministry of Education, which is offering online education through the new Saskatchewan Distance Learning Centre for the first time in the upcoming school year, three independent organizations have also been approved to offer K-12 online learning: FlexED, Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools, and Regina Catholic Schools.

All have met the requirements under the Provincial Quality Assurance Framework, the ministry said, which lays out requirements, practices, roles and responsibilities for approved online schools.

Approved providers of online learning must commit to a three-year agreement with the government, the ministry noted, which can be extended or terminated by mutual agreement. The three non-government groups are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding to that effect in the coming days.

“The Government of Saskatchewan worked with all three applicants to make sure their existing online learning platforms provide a consistent learning experience,” Dustin Duncan, Saskatchewan’s education minister, said in a statement.

The online schools will all make their course offerings publicly available in the coming months, the ministry said, “to ensure students and families can make informed choices on the courses that best meet the students’ needs as they plan for their future.”