Province to remove barriers, make way for more child care at schools [1]
Excerpts
The Province has introduced legislation to enable school districts in B.C. to support families with more child care on school grounds.
...
On Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, government tabled Bill 19, the school amendment act. If passed, this act will enable school districts to provide child care to children of all ages, including infants and toddlers. Districts also will be allowed to provide care during non-school days, such as professional development days, and winter, spring and summer breaks.
These changes could also improve the ability of school districts to support sustainable child care programs or expansions by ensuring districts can recover reasonable costs, similar to how non-for-profit centres can operate. School districts will work with local communities and First Nations to inform expansion planning and how best to meet community needs.
...
Since 2018, government has undertaken plans to build more child care spaces and provide significant savings for families. ChildCareBC’s space-creation programs have helped fund more than 41,500 new licensed child care spaces in B.C., with 26,200 of these open and providing care for families. School districts have been strong partners in creating these new spaces, with more than 14,700 new spaces on school grounds and more than 7,600 of those spaces open across 43 school districts.
...