The School Act is a provincial statue governing primary education and secondary education within Alberta. The Act authorizes the creation of and regulates public, separate, and Francophone school authorities and that Alberta Education will oversee the school authorities. Responsibility for oversight of the administration of individual schools lies with the district school authority. The ministry has the ability to dissolve school authorities, which has only happened twice in provincial history, as recently as 1999. One of the trustees who was a member of the 1999 dissolution was notable Alberta politician Danielle Smith, whom as of 2012 is the Leader of the Official Opposition.
The Education Act is a newly proposed piece of legislation that received royal assent in 2012. When the NDP took power however their government decided that it would review this Act which had been passed under the previous Conservative government and that the school act would remain in place for the 2016/2017 school year.
The Post-Secondary Learning Act is a provincial statue governing post-secondary education within Alberta. Government oversight for post-secondary education across the province lies with Alberta Advanced Education. This ministry provides funding to Alberta universities, colleges and other post-secondary institutions.