The council was established by the government of Robert Bourassa to administer the education reforms that would follow passage of Quebec's Official Language Act.
[1] By the end of the council's existence, its primary responsibility was to facilitate tax collection and distribute revenue to schools with low-income students.
[3] In late 2002, Education minister Sylvain Simard oversaw passage of a bill abolishing the council and replacing it with a seven-member committee comprising the directors-general of Montreal's five school boards and two representatives of the province's education department.
Some council members charged that Simard's decision was intended as punishment for the council's refusal the previous year to implement a provincial directive to raise taxes.
Simard rejected this, arguing that the council's abolition would save $900,000 and that the replacement committee could better facilitate the redistribution of funds.