Supports for families during teacher strike

Posted on October 16, 2025 by Taber Times

Alberta Government

The ongoing teachers’ strike has left many families balancing work, child care and learning at home. The new supports will help parents and students manage unexpected costs, reduce learning disruptions and provide stability during this uncertain time.

Additional parent payment for children with complex care needs

The impacts of a teacher strike can be especially challenging for families of children with complex care needs, who may have limited access to suitable respite and child care options. Alberta’s government is providing additional financial support for those with active Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) agreements who are affected by the strike.

Families of children with active FSCD agreements who are enrolled in schools affected by the strike will be eligible for the following supports:

• $30 per child per instructional day for children 12 and under

• $60 per child per instructional day for children 13 years and older

While families will be asked to provide their child’s FSCD File ID number, found on their FSCD agreement, a separate application process is not required.

This funding is in addition to the previously announced Parent Payment Program, which provides $30 per instructional day for children 12 and under who are enrolled in a school impacted by teacher labour action.

Families of children aged 12 and under with active FSCD agreements are eligible for an additional $30 per child per school day. Combined with payments through the Parent Payment Program, this totals up to $300 per five-day school week.

Families of children aged 13 through 17 with an active FSCD agreement are eligible for $60 per child per instructional day, totalling up to $300 per five-day school week.

Parents can apply through the online parent portal, which will open on alberta.ca on Oct. 14. 

If a student was 12 on Oct. 6, when labour action began, they will qualify to receive the payment for the duration of the strike, even if they turn 13 prior to labour action ending.  

Payment program

To help ease the extra costs families may face while children are away from their desks during labour action, Alberta’s government is introducing a new payment program for parents. This program would be available to parents and guardians of students aged 12 and under who attend a public, separate or francophone school and are affected by teacher strikes.

Eligible parents or guardians would receive $30 per day, or $150 per week, per student for the duration of the ATA’s labour action. The first payment will be made on Oct. 31

The payments would support families while students are unable to attend school to help offset additional costs like child care, educational supports such as tutoring or other activities to keep students engaged.

Child care subsidy

To ease the financial burden on families who require additional child care during the strike, Alberta’s government will increase October funding rates for eligible children in grades 1 to 6 who are attending out-of-school care full time.

The temporary increase in funding will come into effect after five consecutive days of a strike and apply for all of October. The rate of funding will increase to a maximum of $644 to align with the funding rates provided during summer months when children require full-time care.

Distance education

To provide continued access to learning and offer students more flexibility, Alberta’s government will temporarily lift the 10-credit per year limit on distance education. This will allow students in grades 10 to 12 to keep earning credits during a strike if they are interested in doing so. Students may also enrol in distance learning with independent schools that offer this programming at any time during the strike. 

Home education

Parents may also choose to enrol their child in a home education program with a supervising independent school. If a family chooses to do so, both the family and the supervising independent school will be eligible for up to 50 per cent of the home education grant, up to $450.50 per child.

Family programming  

To provide further opportunities for continued learning, Alberta’s provincial heritage sites and museums are offering free admission for all Albertans aged 18 and under for the duration of the teachers’ strike.  

Sites offering free admission include: 

• Frank Slide Interpretive Centre, Crowsnest Pass 

• Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo Jump, Fort Macleod 

• Oil Sands Discovery Centre, Fort McMurray 

• Remington Carriage Museum, Cardston 

• Reynolds Museum, Wetaskiwin 

• Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton 

• Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller  

Parents and family members will still be required to pay admission fees. Guests 14 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Museums will also be expanding hours. Families are encouraged to visit the website of each participating museum for details on hours and programming.

Learning supports

To give families flexibility during the labour disruption, Alberta Education and Childcare created a free toolkit for parents to support their child’s learning.

The toolkit provides resources that follow the grades K-12 curriculum. The resources are available in English, French and French immersion and focus on the core subjects of language arts, social studies, math and sciences. These resources will be updated weekly.

• Through the Parent Payment Program, all families with children aged 12 and under enrolled in a public, separate or francophone school will receive $30 per child per instructional day (up to $150 per week) during labour action.

• Families of children aged 12 and under with active FSCD agreements are eligible for an additional $30 per child per instructional day. Combined with payments through the Parent Payment Program, this totals up to $300 per five-day school week.

• Families of children aged 13 through 17 with an active FSCD agreement are eligible for $60 per child per instructional day, totalling up to $300 per five-day school week.

• These financial supports are not new funding. They are funds redirected from teacher salaries that will not be paid during labour action to support families.

• The parent payment portal will open for all eligible families on Oct. 14, and the first payments will begin rolling out on Oct. 31.

– To prepare, parents should ensure they have an Alberta.ca verified ID, which is required to sign up for payments through the portal.

• All parent payments are retroactive to Oct. 6 and will continue until teacher labour action ends.

• Students who choose distance education non-primary enrolment continue to be registered at their local school while earning additional credits from another school authority.

• If families choose to enrol their children in a home education program during the teacher strike, they would no longer be registered at their public, separate or francophone school.

– If they end the home education program, they are not guaranteed to return to the same school they attended prior to making the change to home education.

• School authorities are required to accept returning resident grade 1-12 students and must place them in a school within the school authority.

• Parents can access a free toolkit to support their child’s learning during a strike.