The principal has a a number of legislative duties with respect to the prevention of bullying and investigating matters reported by employees of the board that students of the school have engaged in bullying 1 while at school, at a school-related activity or in other circumstances where engaging in the activity will have an impact on the school climate.2 The checklist at the bottom of this section is provided as a resource to assist the principal in meeting these legislative requirements.
All employee reports made to the principal, including those made verbally, must be confirmed in writing, using the “Safe Schools Incident Reporting Form – Part I” in an appropriate and timely manner. The results of the investigation are to be communicated to the employee who reported the matter using the “Safe Schools Incident Reporting Form – Part II”.3 If a board employee (not a teacher), made the report, the principal will communicate the results of the investigation to the employee if considered appropriate in the circumstances. The principal must not disclose more personal information than is reasonably necessary for the purpose of communicating the results of the investigation.4 Where the principal is the sole witness to an incident, the principal is similarly required to use the reporting form to confirm in writing what he or she witnessed.
If the principal decides that action must be taken as a result of bullying, they must file a copy of the Reporting Form – Part I with documentation indicating the action taken in the OSR (Ontario Student Record) of the student whose behaviour was inappropriate. The names of all other students (students who have engaged in the activity and students who have been harmed) that appear on the form must be removed from the form before it is filed. In case of the student who has been harmed, no information about the incident must be placed in the OSR, unless expressly requested by the student’s parents. The form and the documentation must be kept in the OSR for a minimum of one year.5
If the principal has identified the bullying incident as violent6, the reporting form must be retained in that student’s OSR for one year, if the student’s suspension was quashed or withdrawn and the record of suspension expunged; for three years, if the student was suspended for the violent incident; for five years, if the student was expelled for the violent incident. Please note that, for non-violent incidents where no further action is taken by the principal, the principal is not required to retain the report.7
Where a principal believes that a student of the school has been harmed8 as a result of bullying, the principal must, as soon as reasonably possible, notify the parents or guardians of the student who has been harmed and the parents or guardians of the student who engaged in the activity that resulted in the harm.9
The principal is to inform the parent or guardian of the student who has been bullied:
- the nature of the activity that resulted in harm to the student ;
- the nature of the harm to the public;
- the steps taken to protect the student s safety, including the nature of any disciplinary measures taken in response to the activity; and
- the supports that will be provided for the student in response to the harm that resulted from the activity.10
The principal is to inform the parent or guardian of the student who has engaged in bullying:
- the nature of the activity that resulted in harm to the other student;
- the nature of the harm to the other student;
- the nature of any disciplinary measures taken in response to the activity; and
- the supports that will be provided for the student in response to his or her engagement in the activity. 11
The principal must set up a process for parents to follow if they have concerns about the support their child is receiving and offer parents more opportunities to learn about student safety and school climate. Where support is provided to the student who has been bullied or engaged in bullying, the principal, when notifying the parent of guardian, is required to invite the parent or guardian to have a discussion with the Principal about the support that will be provided for his or her child.12
If, in the principal’s opinion, notifying the parent or guardian of the student would place the student at risk from his or her parent or guardian, the principal is not required to notify the student’s parent or guardian.13 When the principal does not notify the student’s parent or guardian, he or she must document the rationale for this decision and notify both the teacher who reported the incident and the appropriate supervisory officer of this decision. In addition, the principal should refer the student to board resources or to a community-based service provider that can provide the appropriate type of confidential support when his or her parents are not called. Where board employees have reason to believe that a student may be in need of protection, board employees must call Children’s Aid Society according to the requirements of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act. 201714
Checklist of Principals’ Legal Duties When Dealing With Incidents of Bullying
Legal Duties In Respect of All Students
- Post the School Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan (“School Plan”) and ensure that all students understand what behaviour constitutes bullying, how to report incidents of bullying and the range of consequences for bullying.
- Ensure the School Plan which forms part of the School Improvement Plan includes: the definition of bullying, prevention and awareness-raising strategies, intervention and support strategies (including plans to protect victims), reporting requirements, training strategies for the school community, communication and outreach strategies and monitoring and review processes.
- Provide students with age appropriate programming and awareness-raising strategies to reinforce what bullying is, how it affects victims and their families, issues of discrimination and what healthy/inclusive relationships look like.
- Actively supervise and support all board staff[1] as well as third party contractors (eg. bus drivers, providers of early learning programs, etc.) in respect of their duty to report, to the principal, incidents for which suspension or expulsion must be considered. Since bullying is one behaviour that may lead to suspension or expulsion, any staff who witness or become aware that a student may have engaged in bullying must report it as soon as reasonably possible to the principal and, taking into account the urgency of the situation, no later than the end of the school day. The report can be oral (if necessary) but ultimately Part 1 of the Safe Schools Incident Reporting Form must be completed and given to the principal.
- If, as principal, you witness or receive information about a bullying incident, you should complete the Safe Schools Incident Reporting Form – Part 1
- Actively supervise and support all staff who work directly with students (administrators, teachers, social workers, CYWS, EAs, ECEs) in respect of their responsibility to respond to incidents of bullying (behaviour likely to have a negative impact on the school climate) unless responding would cause immediate physical harm to the staff member, student bully or other students.
- Conduct an anonymous school climate survey of students every two years, share the results with your board, the safe schools team and modify the school improvement plan as necessary to reflect the survey outcome.
- Ensure that there is a safe schools team responsible for school safety that includes at least one student, parent, non-teaching staff member, community partner and you.
- Provide “supports” to students who have been affected by observing bullying.
Legal Duties In Respect of the Victim
- Take all allegations of bullying seriously.
- Receive the allegation and assess whether, if true, the behaviour would meet the definition of bullying as per the Education Act and, if so, follow the School Plan in terms of investigating and responding to it. Immediately contact the police if required by the District School Board/Police Protocol. If the victim has not been subjected to bullying but nonetheless requires support and assistance, provide it.
- Immediately speak with and determine the needs of the victim, acting in a timely, sensitive and supportive manner.
- Where the victim has suffered “harm” as a result of the bullying, advise his parents of the nature of the activity that resulted in the harm, the nature of the harm, and the steps taken to protect the student’s safety, including the nature of any disciplinary consequences imposed on the student bully. Do not reveal the identity of (or any identifying information about) the bully.
- If the principal believes that the victim could suffer harm from her parents if they are advised of the incident, no disclosure should be made. Instead, the principal must: document the rationale for the decision not to disclose, notify the teacher who made the report (if this is the source), notify the superintendent, inform other board employees as necessary, implement Board supports for the student and refer the student to appropriate community agencies.
- Ensure appropriate documentation in the victim’s OSR as prescribed:
- No documentation in the victim’s OSR if the parents do not request it
- Where the victim is also an aggressor and received some discipline short of suspension but parents not advised, no documentation
- Where victim aggressor, parents advised and received discipline, document in OSR.
- Implement procedures to support and educate parents including a process for parents to follow if they are not satisfied with the supports that their child received.
- Provide support to the victim and the parent/guardian as necessary in accordance with the Education Act and PPM 144 and invite the parent or guardian to have a discussion about the support that will be provided for their child.
- Create and implement a specific plan to protect the victim which may involve an administrative transfer of the bully – the victim should not be required to transfer to a new school, unless she wishes to be moved.
Legal Duties In Respect of the Student Bully
[1] Note that there are special and more limited reporting obligations for board employees who are members of the Colleges of Psychologists and Social Workers designed to enable them to maintain their clinical relationships with students.
1. Education Act R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER E., ss.306(1) (6) and ss.310(1)(7.1).
2. Ibid., ss.300.2 (3).
3. Ibid., ss.300.2(4).
4. Ibid., ss.300.2(5).
5. Progressive Discipline and Promoting Positive Student Behaviour, PPM No. 145, p. 12. Online: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/extra/eng/ppm/145.pdf.
6. Violent is defined in Reporting Violent Incidents to the Ministry of Education, PPM 120, p. 2 as: possessing a weapon, including possessing a firearm, physical assault causing bodily harm requiring medical attention, sexual assault, robbery, using a weapon to cause or to threaten bodily harm to another person, extortion, and hate and/or bias-motivated occurrences.
7. Progressive Discipline and Promoting Positive Student Behaviour, PPM No. 145, p. 13.
8. Harm is defined in Bullying Prevention and Intervention, PPM No. 144, p. 4: Harm can be experienced a number of ways, including, physical, mental, emotional, and psychological.
9. Ibid., ss.303.3 (1).
10. Ibid., ss.300.3(4).
11. Ibid., ss.300.3 (6).
12. Ibid., ss.300.3 (8).
13. Ibid. ss.303.3 (3).
14. Progressive Discipline and Promoting Positive Student Behaviour, PPM No. 145, p. 9.