Ottawa parents are welcoming new school safety rules that change the way staff report and respond to serious incidents, such as bullying or vandalism.
The Keeping Our Kids Safe at School Act came into effect in Ontario on Feb. 1 and requires all school board staff members to report serious incidents to the principal in writing that could lead to suspension or expulsion, along with telling parents of victims what discipline the offender received.
Both of these changes are the first of their kind in Canada.
Catherine Robinson, co-chair of the school council at Glebe Collegiate Institute, says parents reacted favourably following a presentation explaining the act by the principal. She says parents believe it is legislating communication that is already happening.
“(Parents) have a better idea of what will happen under the new legislation, which is possibly that there will be more reports if teachers and support staff are required to report (incidents).” Anne Teutsch, chair of the Ottawa Carleton Assembly of School Councils, agrees.
She says. ”We all want our schools to be safe, we all want things to be done appropriately to deal with kids that are causing trouble and kids that are victims
. . . I think this (legislation) is addressing that.”
The Ministry of Education website says actions that could lead to suspension include bullying, vandalism and swearing at a teacher. Carrying a weapon, robbery or assault needing medical attention could lead to expulsion.
School board employees that need to report incidents under the legislation include teachers, administration, custodians and bus drivers. Staff who do not report an incident may face sanctions.
The Ontario Secondary School Teacher’s Federation released a statement following the bill’s passing on June 1, 2009, that says they agree with the spirit of the bill but believe staff need more training in responding to youth violence to enforce it properly.
Petra Duschner, manager of safe schools for the Ottawa Carleton District School Board, says representatives from each school were invited to a training session about the new rules, and these representatives went on to train staff at their school.
“We don’t expect in our board that it will have a drastic impact in terms of changing the day-to-day operations of the school,” she says. “We’ve had the expectation that staff report any concerning behaviour to administration in place since the new ‘safe schools’ act came into place in 2008 . . . what this new legislation basically does is formalize that procedure.”
Robinson added that the reporting form is one page, straightforward and brief.
A provincial Safe Schools Action Team 2008 report inspired the legislation, says Duschner.
For Robinson, Glebe Collegiate Institute and other schools need to be safe in order to help students grow and learn.
“It’s the social setting for the kids, and especially when they get into high school it’s their workplace, it’s their social life, all kinds of things as they’re evolving into adults,” she says. “It’s a real important setting and we want it to be safe.”