The impact of the teachers’ ongoing job action is being felt especially by those in Nova Scotia’s international baccalaureate diploma program.

IB is offered at 13 high schools in Nova Scotia, and is considered a prestigious program for high-achieving students to prepare for university studies.

Students at Cole Harbour High School say they’re worried about what an extended work-to-rule could mean for their preparation.

“I miss doing extra help,” said Grade 12 student Taylor Naugle. “I go to tutoring elsewhere now because we can't do extra help.”

During the work-to-rule, teachers are not allowed to provide extra help to students outside the regular class time. They're also banned from communicating with students and parents beyond the classroom hours, unless there's a safety concern.

Grade 12 student Alexandra Carroll say the job action means students have to co-ordinate some aspects of the program – like volunteer work – on their own. Other parts of the IB curriculum require significant time outside class, especially toward the end of the semester in January.

“We're supposed to have six hours outside class, so it's hard because we can't have that time that they normally use to do that,” Carroll said.

In an email, a representative of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union says to the best of the union's knowledge, the IB program is continuing under work-to-rule.

Despite the job action continuing, students say it’s not business as usual.

“We just had to make a lot of modifications so we couldn't work within the regular scheduled time that we have outside of class,” said Carroll.

Naugle and Carroll are quick to point out they're not blaming their own teachers for the issue. They say many are trying to lessen the affects.

“All the teachers are still trying to help us the best that they can with what they're allowed to do,” said Naugle.

In a statement, the Department of Education acknowledges that work-to-rule is presenting challenges for students and government will continue to work with the union to reach an agreement.

The two sides are in conciliation still but no talks are scheduled.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Sarah Ritchie.