Board / authority authorized courses (BAA) are designed to meet local community needs while providing choice and flexibility for students. Each secondary school offers a variety of board authorized courses that provide unique opportunities for students to explore particular subject areas in greater depth.
By July 2018, all existing Grade 10 BAA courses must be updated to the revised BAA Framework that embodies the Know, Do, Understand model of the revised BC curriculum. By July 2019, all Grade 11 & 12 BAA courses must also be updated to this framework.
Process for submitting a new BAA proposal:
- Review the Ministry of Education’s BAA Requirements & Procedures guide
- Consult with your school administration
- Download the revised BAA Template
- Use the BAA application checklist to guide your process.
- Submit BAA application to your school administrator for review.
- Upon approval, you administrator will submit your BAA application to the SD61 Learning Team.
- You will receive feedback on your final application before it goes to the board.
- Present your course proposal to the SD61 School Board.
Note: for a new BAA course to be approved, a teacher will need to demonstrate how the course differs from currently available options under the new curriculum. There should be minimal curricular overlap between a BAA course and a standard BC curriculum course.
BAA timeline for a potential September course start:
- November 1 – Intent to create BAA course must be declared to school administration.
- December 1 – BAA Application draft must be submitted by school administrator to the Secondary District Team
- First week back from Winter Break – Final draft of BAA application should be completed and submitted to school administrator who provides the final review and then submits the course to the district.
- January School Board Meeting – BAA course proposal presented to the SD61 Trustees. Teacher and administrator should be prepared to discuss the merits of their application.
- If application is successful, course can begin the following September.
BAA Application Resources
- Ministry of Education BAA Requirements & Procedures
- Indigenous Worldviews and Perspectives: Moving Forward
- Revised BAA Template (Word format)
- Sample BAA Application
- BAA application checklist
- BAA assessment form used when reviewing applications
- BAA ELL Course Framework