Section 19(5) of the School Act states: “If a parent enrolls a student in an alternative program, the board may charge that parent fees for the purpose of defraying all or a portion of any non-instructional costs that: 

(a) may be incurred by the board in offering the alternative program, and 

(b) are necessary for the delivery of the program, and 

(c) are in addition to the costs incurred by the board in providing its regular education program.”

The use of the term non-instructional is somewhat ambiguous, however, examples given of fees to cover noninstructional costs in an alternative program include resources specific to the alternative program, and instructors, clergy, and teachers providing instruction for the alternative portion of the program. We have interpreted non-instructional fees as non-instructional related to the comparable program. This means that instructional costs related to the alternative program can be defrayed through fees. 

This means we have the ability to charge fees to cover these extra costs. These are costs associated with our alternative program. We do not charge a Society membership fee; we charge an alternative program fee to cover the additional costs of our program. Without these fees, it would be impossible to continue to deliver our program.