Editing Separate school (section)

== Ontario ==
School boards funded by the province consist of 29 English [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]] and 8 French Catholic boards, as well as 35 non-denominational [[Public school (government funded)|public school]] boards (31 English public, 4 French public).  There is one [[Protestantism|Protestant]] separate school jurisdiction in Ontario, the Burkevale Protestant Separate School, operated by the [[Penetanguishene Protestant Separate School Board]]. In Ontario, this determination was largely made throughout the province by the time of Confederation.

The public school system in the province was historically Protestant but was gradually transformed into a secular public system.  Prayer in public schools was banned in the late 1980s by a decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal.<ref>[https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/1988/1988canlii189/1988canlii189.html?autocompleteStr=zylb&autocompletePos=1 ''Zylberberg v Sudbury Board of Education'', 1988 CanLII 189, 65 OR (2d) 641;  52 DLR (4th) 577;  29 OAC 23;  34 CRR 1;  [1988<nowiki>]</nowiki> OJ No 1488 (QL). (ON CA)]</ref>

Since the 19th century, funding for the Roman Catholic separate school system was provided up to Grade 10 under the [[British North America Act|British North America (BNA) Act]]. In 1984, the government of Premier [[Bill Davis|William Davis]] extended full funding to include the last three (Grades 11–13 ([[Ontario Academic Credit|OAC]])) years of Roman Catholic secondary schools after having rejected that proposal fifteen years earlier. The first funded academic year occurred in 1985–86, as grade 11, and one grade was added in each of the next two years.

The right to have a publicly funded separate denominational school system continues to be guaranteed to Roman Catholics in Ontario by s. 93 of the ''Constitution Act, 1867''.<ref>[https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/does-constitutional-protection-prevent-education-reform-in-ontario.pdf Bruce Pardy, "Does Constitutional Protection Prevent Education Reform in Ontario?", Fraser Institute Research Bulletin, 2016.]</ref>

The issue of extending public funding to other religious schools was raised by the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario]] in the [[2007 Ontario general election]]; however they lost the election and the issue was not raised again in the subsequent election.