The Alberta government is inviting teachers and principals to apply for a new Teacher Advisory Council that will advise the education minister on provincial policy, following a contentious fall that saw the province legislate teachers back to work.

The council will bring together up to 15 educators from diverse school settings and communities to share perspectives with the minister of Education and Childcare. Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said teachers understand classroom realities and their expertise is essential to addressing issues like class size and complexity. The positions are unpaid and voluntary, with online meetings held outside school hours, and appointments run for up to 18 months with possible reappointment. Applications close February 13.

The announcement comes after the government passed Bill 2, the Back to School Act, in late October, which ended a provincewide teacher strike and imposed a settlement that the Alberta Teachers' Association says was rejected by 89.5 per cent of teachers. The settlement includes salary increases of at least 12 per cent over four years, with 95 per cent of teachers receiving up to 17 per cent, and commits to hiring 3,000 new teachers.

Alberta Teachers' Association President Jason Schilling responded that there's already an organization representing the province's 51,000 teachers. He said teachers participating in the panel will likely reiterate what the association has been saying for years: overcrowded and complex classrooms are unsustainable and prevent students' needs from being met. Schilling questioned why the government hasn't released class size and complexity information that was already collected, and suggested the government act on recommendations from its own Aggression and Complexity in Schools Action Team released in November.