Jordan's Principle in Saskatchewan: What First Nations Families Need to Know for School

Jordan's Principle is one of the most important — and most misunderstood — funding mechanisms available to First Nations families navigating the education system in Saskatchewan. It was created to ensure that First Nations children get the services they need without being caught in jurisdictional disputes between federal and provincial governments. In theory, it pays first and sorts out jurisdiction later. In practice, it has become increasingly difficult to access, and recent federal policy changes have made that worse.

This post explains what Jordan's Principle actually covers for school supports, how to apply, and why applications fail — because knowing the pitfalls before you apply significantly improves your chances.

What Jordan's Principle Is

Jordan's Principle is a federal policy commitment, implemented through Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), named after Jordan River Anderson — a First Nations child from Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba who spent years in hospital waiting for provincial and federal governments to agree on who would pay for his home care. He died in hospital before they resolved it.

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered the federal government to implement Jordan's Principle to prevent other children from suffering the same outcome. It applies to all First Nations children in Canada, status or non-status, on or off reserve.

The core principle: when a First Nations child needs a product, service, or support and there is a dispute or gap between federal and provincial/territorial governments about who pays, the federal government pays first. Settlement and reimbursement happen after the child gets the service.

For education, this means Jordan's Principle can fund supports that Saskatchewan's provincial school system is either refusing to provide, has a waitlist for, or where there is ambiguity about whether the province or the federal government is responsible for children on reserve.

What Jordan's Principle Can Fund in an Education Context

Jordan's Principle is broader than most families realize. For school-related supports, approved requests have included:

• Educational assistants (EAs) — perhaps the most common education-related request. If a First Nations child has a documented need for EA support and the school cannot or will not provide it, Jordan's Principle can fund an EA directly
• Speech-language pathology services — when school wait times stretch six to twelve months (as they commonly do in Saskatchewan) and the child's development is being harmed by the delay
• Occupational therapy and physiotherapy in an educational context
• Psychoeducational assessments — when the school refuses to conduct one and a private assessment ($2,000 to $3,500 in Saskatchewan) is needed to document the child's needs
• Behavior support and intervention services
• Transition supports for children moving between settings

The request must be for a product or service that addresses a specific health, social, or educational need of the child. It does not need to be exclusively a "health" need — education and social needs are explicitly included.

The February 2025 Policy Changes

In February 2025, Indigenous Services Canada issued strict new guidelines that have made Jordan's Principle significantly harder to access. The new requirements include:

Proof of distinct need. The application must demonstrate that the child has a need that is distinct — not just a general need that any child might have. Vague descriptions of difficulty at school are no longer sufficient.

Service gaps must be documented. ISC now requires evidence that the service is not available through existing provincial or federal programs, or that the wait time for the available service causes harm. You cannot request Jordan's Principle funding simply because you prefer a particular service provider.

Professional recommendations. Applications must include a recommendation from a qualified professional — a physician, psychologist, speech-language pathologist, or other regulated professional — that the specific service is necessary for the child.

These changes mean that Jordan's Principle applications require more preparation upfront. Families who apply without documentation of the specific need, the service gap, and a professional recommendation are seeing their requests denied or deferred.

On Reserve vs. Off Reserve

Jordan's Principle applies to all First Nations children regardless of where they live. The on/off reserve distinction affects which services and which agencies are relevant, but it does not affect eligibility for Jordan's Principle itself.

On reserve: schools are often federally funded or operated by the First Nation itself. The school may not have access to the same provincial resources (including provincial EA training, psychology services, and specialized programs) as off-reserve provincial schools. Jordan's Principle can fund supports that fill the gap.

Off reserve: First Nations children attend provincial schools governed by Saskatchewan school divisions. They are entitled to all the same provincial supports as any other student under The Education Act, 1995 and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code, 2018. However, if the provincial system has a gap or delay, Jordan's Principle still applies. A First Nations child attending a Saskatoon Public Schools school who has been waiting twelve months for a speech-language pathologist can apply for Jordan's Principle funding to access private SLP services in the interim.

Why Applications Fail (and How to Avoid It)

The most common reasons Jordan's Principle applications are rejected:

Insufficient documentation of need. The application describes the child's challenges in general terms without a formal assessment or professional letter confirming the specific diagnosis or functional limitation.

No documented service gap. The family has not yet been formally denied or waitlisted by the provincial system. ISC wants to see evidence that you tried the provincial channel first and it failed — a waitlist letter, a school refusal, a referral with a projected date.

No professional recommendation. Since February 2025, this has become a hard requirement. If you do not have a physician, psychologist, or regulated therapist recommending the specific service, the application is likely to be returned.

The request is too vague. "Help at school" is not fundable. "Ten hours per week of educational assistant support to implement the behavioral support strategies in [Child's Name]'s IIP, as recommended by [Psychologist's name] in the attached assessment" is fundable.

Jordan's Principle Delays in Saskatchewan

Even when Jordan's Principle applications are complete and well-documented, families report significant delays in decisions from ISC. Complex requests — those requiring coordination across departments or involving significant dollar amounts — can take months to process. During that period, the child continues without the support.

If your application is pending and your child is being harmed by the delay, you can escalate within ISC and request expedited review on the basis of urgency. Document the specific, ongoing harm the child is experiencing and how it relates to the support you have requested.

You can also request assistance from a First Nations Child and Family Advocate, your First Nation's education or social services department, or organizations like the First Nations Family Collaborative in Saskatchewan.

Provincial Rights Still Apply

Jordan's Principle is not a substitute for the provincial system. First Nations children attending Saskatchewan provincial schools are entitled to the same protections under The Education Act, 1995 as any other student: the right to assessment when requested in writing, the right to an IIP if they have intensive needs, and the duty of accommodation under the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.

If the school is refusing supports that it would be required to provide any student, the answer is not Jordan's Principle — it is the provincial escalation path: superintendent, Board of Education (Section 178.1 formal review), and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.

Jordan's Principle fills the gaps that remain after the provincial system has been held to its obligations. It is most valuable when the provincial system has done what it can and a need still exists, or when the provincial system is so delayed that the child cannot wait.

The Saskatchewan Special Ed Advocacy Playbook covers both the provincial rights framework and the Jordan's Principle application process, including how to document service gaps and what professional letters need to say.

See more Canada guides →