From Alternative Schools to School Choice in the Vancouver School District, 1960s to the Neoliberal Present

Oct 15, 2026

This article examines how alternative secondary school programs in Vancouver, British Columbia evolved over time, arguing that today’s school choice policies are neither purely new nor solely neoliberal in origin. Using a historical approach, it traces late-1960s alternative schools and the Vancouver school board’s absorption of them into new district programs. It distinguishes remedial rehabilitative alternatives from selective district-specified alternatives, then links growth to the 2002 School Amendment Act and subsequent market-oriented funding pressures.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Absorbing Alternatives From Outside the System, Late 1960s–1971

Conclusion

From Alternative Schools to School Choice in the Vancouver School District, 1960s to the Neoliberal Present Jason Ellisa & Ee-Seul Yoonb a University of British Columbia, b University of Manitoba Abstract This article examines the transformation over time of alternative secondary school programs in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC) . It approaches school choice from a historical standpoint, to make the point that today’s choice policies are neither entirely recent nor entirely neoliberal in origin. Instead, they are built on past precedent and policy flowing from the right and left of the spectrum. The article traces the alternative schools that first emerged in the 1960s, and the Vancouver school board’s subsequent absorption of them to offer new, alternative programs beyond its regular secondary school curriculum. Vancouver’s alternative secondary programs were soon organized into two distinctive types: (1) remedial rehabilitative alternatives, and (2) selective district specified alternatives. New policy, institutional changes, and philosophical changes in the education sector allowed both types of alternatives to exist, but over time encouraged district specified alternatives to thrive. The provincial School Amendment Act of 2002 represented a watershed for choice as we know it today. It opened attendance boundaries across BC and gave districts the tools to generate their own revenues. Freezing the per-pupil funding it provided to districts atthe same time, the provincial government induced districts to compete with one another to recruit students domestically and internationally in order to secure revenue. District specified programs in Vancouver became a key to the district’s competitive ability. By elucidating some of this history of different alternative and choice programs, at the secondary level in Vancouver, this article adds considerable perspective to the current theoretical discussion about how neoliberal philosophy is changing choice in Canadian schools. Keywords: alternative programs, school choice, education market, educational inequality, neoliberal reforms, policy history Introduction School choice is a topic of considerable interest to academics, policy makers, parents of schoolchildren, students, and the public in general. Families and high school students in Vancouver have more choice today than ever before—arguably as much choice as any of their counterparts anywhere else in the country. How did this come to be? The answer, we contend, lies in the long history of strong alternative programs in Vancouver, that have more recently gestated into twenty-first-century choice programs. In fact, while“choice” is often thought of as a relatively new development in educational policy, its direct antecedents lie nearly five decades in the past in the alternative schools and programs of the late 1960s and early 1970s (Forman, 2005; Peterson, 1995; Ravitch, 2010) . This article explores the transformation of educational options for secondary school (Grades 8–12) students within the Vancouver School Board (VSB), the public school district of Vancouver, British Columbia (BC) . In particular, it examines how a small number of alternative programs originating in 1960s idealism were able to morph into today’s broad menu of choice programs with competitive admissions. While some original alternative programs remain, they are today overshadowed by the newer choice programs. The opening up of alternatives in the secondary schools in the late 1960s and early 1970s, we argue, created the policy and philosophical space for options; but it was the turn to neoliberal, market-oriented philosophy, in particular after 2002, that has strengthened school choice practices based on competition and student or family self-interest. By elucidating some of this history of different alternative and choice programs, at the secondary level in Vancouver, this article adds considerable perspective to the current theoretical di

FAQs

What does the article argue about the origins of Vancouver’s school choice policies?

It argues that current choice policies are neither entirely recent nor entirely neoliberal in origin, because they build on earlier precedents and policies from across the political spectrum.

How did Vancouver’s alternative secondary programs change in structure over time?

The programs were organized into two types: remedial rehabilitative alternatives and selective district-specified alternatives, with district-specified alternatives eventually encouraged to thrive.

Why is the 2002 School Amendment Act described as a watershed?

It opened attendance boundaries across British Columbia and gave districts tools to generate revenue, while freezing per-pupil funding pushed districts to compete to recruit students domestically and internationally.

Oct 15, 2026

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