BCSTA urges changes to copyright law to address educational use of Internet
 BCSTA has joined the Council of Ministers of Education and the Canadian School Boards Association in advocating for a clear legislative exemption for the educational use of materials posted on the Internet. The exemption would apply to material that is “freely available without password protection or other restrictions.”
In a letter to Jim Prentice, the Federal Minister of Industry, BCSTA President Penny Tees acknowledged the need to protect market-driven publications, and assured the minister that we are not seeking to override the copyright owners’ right to control the distribution of their material. She did, however, stress that “educators deserve a clear, specific, and broad exemption that will encourage students to become discriminating users of Internet resources.” A similar letter will be sent to all BC Members of Parliament later this week.
Individual boards of education may want to write to their MPs urging support for a copyright exemption for educational use of materials posted on the Internet. Visit CSBA’s InfoPicks for more information.
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Nominations for BCSTA officers for 2008/2009 close Monday, March 3
 The deadline for receiving nominations to be included in delegate information is Monday, March 3, 2008.
Additional nominations will be called for on Thursday evening, April 3 at AGM, at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver. Nominations will then be closed. Elections will be held on Saturday, April 5.
More information available here.
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Planning the Education Program at BCSTA events
 Occasionally we receive requests from individual trustees or boards to hold specific programs at BCSTA events, or for space to host their own activities at our events. Although we endeavour to accommodate member requests whenever possible, the increasing number of such requests has highlighted the need for some guidelines.
Accordingly, the Board of Directors has passed a motion stating that the content and delivery of all education programs at BCSTA events be coordinated by the Education Committee in conjunction with the senior director of education, rather than staff responding to requests from individuals for specific programs. As all activities that trustees participate in during BCSTA events – including those outside of the regular education program – form part of their membership experience, the Association should be fully responsible for the planning and delivery of all of these activities.
We will, however, have drop-in space available to trustees for unscheduled meetings and conversations. We appreciate your understanding as we try to provide you with top-notch education programming at BCSTA events.
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More light shed on BC150
Get an update on the latest news about BC150, including the Discover Your Community: History in Art Poster Contest, which encourages children and youth to discover the history of their own community.
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More information on trustee disqualification case now available
 The reasons for the judgement in the case of the Board of Education of School District 42 v. Joostema, reported on in BCSTA’s e-Alert of February 1, 2008, are now available from the BC Supreme Court website.
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