The OPC Professional Services Team has prepared a chart documenting the key changes brought about by Bill 157 – “Keeping Our Kids Safe at School” as it revised the Education Act (Part XIII Behaviour and Discipline), Regulation 472/07 and resulted in the revision and re-issuing of PPMs 144 (Bullying Prevention) and 145 (Progressive Discipline) – all of which took effect February 1, 2010.
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RESPONSIBILITY
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WHO/HOW
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PRACTICAL ISSUES
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Duty to Report
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Report to the principal every incident that occurs at school, school related events or any circumstance where activity will impact school climate for which a student could be suspended or expelled
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All board employees (teachers, EAs, DECEs, custodians, secretarial staff, bus drivers, itinerate staff)
Employees and contractors of Third Party Providers delivering extended day programs also have this same duty to report in respect of all pupils not just those specifically under their care
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All board employees and third party, extended day program employees and contractors must know the list of behaviours for which suspension/expulsion is possible as well as the board added behaviours such as under influence of drugs, knives as weapons, trafficking in restricted drugs.
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The report must be made “as soon as reasonably possible” taking into account safety and urgency. It can be oral if an immediate response is necessary but a written report must also be made no later than the end of the school day
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Use Reporting Form – Part 1 – PPM 144/145
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Transportation policies must be revised to enable bus driver reporting.
These reporting requirements must be communicated to all staff, bus drivers, students, and parents.
Concerns so far = conflict with other professional Colleges to whom some staff are accountable, paperwork, fewer supervisors for events outside school hours, loss of progressive discipline “on the ground,” impact on alternative learning programs/school culture
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Each written report must be assigned a number.
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Principal or as directed by principal.
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Boards need to provide direction around report numbering system – is it by school, board-wide?
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Acknowledge receipt of the written report using Part II of the Reporting Form and indicate whether action was taken.
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Principal or designate.
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Expect/encourage that there should almost always be “action taken” even if only in the form of documenting a conversation with a student or staff member. Good practice to “close the loop” with the reporting teacher (some schools routinely copy office referral forms with P/VP notes and provide to referring teacher).
It’s important to emphasize confidentiality (filing, conversations, etc.) as staff are keeping copies
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If action is taken as a result of the report, a sanitized copy must be filed in every aggressor’s OSR and in the victim’s OSR only at the request of his/her parent(s). If the victim is also an aggressor but the action taken is less than suspension and his/her parents are not advised no record is to be placed in his/her OSR. The report must remain in the OSR for at least one year subject to board direction.
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Principal or designate.
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The PPMs state that if no action is taken, the Principal should destroy the report. The difficulty with destroying the report is that should an issue later arise (OCT, OHRT) the principal may have destroyed relevant information. If the principal elects to keep a copy of this documentation as part of his/her due diligence it must be stored in a confidential manner. Many principals review the collection of office referrals for the past year and purge or retain documents according to the likelihood of future involvement.
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RESPONSIBILITY
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WHO/HOW
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PRACTICAL ISSUES
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Notice to Parents/Guardians
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If a student has been harmed because of an incident for which suspension or expulsion must be considered, the victim’s parents must be notified.
This does not apply to students older than 17 or 16/17-year olds who have withdrawn from parent control.
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Principal or Delegate.
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The information to be shared with the parents =
- Nature of the incident that caused the harm
- Nature of the harm
- Steps taken to protect the student’s safety including the nature of any discipline in response to the incident
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Only the principal can share response information. This duty cannot be delegated to teachers in charge or principal designates (PPM 145).
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It is almost inevitable that the parents of the victim will learn the identity of the aggressor. This creates a conflict between the duty to share information about “ any disciplinary measures taken” as widely publicized by the media and therefore demanded by victims’ parents with MFOIPPA restriction on disclosure of personal information. It is imperative that principals take their direction from the board as to what may be shared.
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If, in the principal’s opinion, advising the victim’s parent(s) of the incident would put the student at risk of harm from the parent(s), the principal shall not notify the parent(s)
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Principal or Delegate
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If the decision is made not to notify the parents the following steps must be taken:
- Document rationale for decision
- Inform SO of decision
- If teacher source of information about possible harm, advise teacher of decision
- If principal deems appropriate, advise other board employees of decision
If teacher is delegated (while P/VP absent) and believes the parents should not be notified, he/she should call the P or SO for direction.
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Duty to respond
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If an employee of the board observes a student behaving in a way that is likely to have a negative impact on school climate, the employee must respond to the incident unless doing so would cause immediate, physical harm to the employee, another student or the student in question.
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All board employees who work directly with students.
Includes: administrators, teachers, staff in social work, CYWs, EAs, DECEs)
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The inappropriate behaviour for which a response is required contemplates the full spectrum from off-colour jokes, racist, sexist or homophobic comments up to and including behaviour that could lead to suspension or expulsion.
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Delegation of authority
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The principal may delegate to a vice-principal or teacher any of his/her duties under Part XIII of the Act as long as the delegation is in writing.
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Vice-principals must receive the delegation in writing but cannot be delegated the authority to suspend for 6 days or more or make the final recommendation to expel a student.
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There are examples on the OPC website of support documents for the “delegation to teacher” process including: the written delegation form (which specifies duration of delegation/emergency contact numbers, board policy in support of delegation and the delegation log. Ps may wish to prepare a similar, standard list of delegated duties for vice-principals.
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Boards must create policies to define what may be delegated.
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A teacher can only receive a written delegation if there are no administrators in the school. A teacher delegate may initiate investigations (suspension/ expulsion) but can neither suspend nor recommend expulsion. The teacher delegate can notify victims’ parents about the incident and harm to their children but cannot share disciplinary responses
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There are examples on the OPC website of support documents for the “delegation to teacher” process including: the written delegation form (which specifies duration of delegation/emergency contact numbers, board policy in support of delegation and the delegation log). Ps may wish to prepare a similar, standard list of delegated duties for vice-principals.
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Board Policies
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Boards are required to revise their progressive discipline and bullying prevention/ intervention policies to align with PPMs 144 and 145 in the following areas:
- Student supports/ available resources
- Prevention and awareness raising
- Building partnerships
- Staff
- Monitoring and review
- School-level plans
- Training strategies for all staff in respect of these changes (plus progressive discipline, bullying prevention/ intervention)
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Additional Resources on Safe and Accepting Schools
- Shaping a Culture of Respect in Our Schools: Promoting Safe and Healthy Relationships
The Safe Schools Action Team examined gender-based violence, homophobia, sexual harassment and inappropriate sexual behaviour in schools, as well as barriers to reporting these incidents. This report summarizes the findings and makes recommendations for action.
- Making Ontario’s Schools Safer: What Parents Need to Know (2008)
This fact sheet explains Ontario’s new approach to making schools safer. Learn more about what these changes mean for you and your child.
- Bullying: We Can All Help Stop It
The effects of bullying go beyond the schoolyard. A resource for parents on what to watch for, what to do and where to go to get help.
- Safe Schools Policy and Practice: An Agenda for Action
This report provides a concise overview of the opinions and points of view expressed by Ontarians on the Safe Schools Act and the issue of school and community safety.
- Discussion Paper: Safer Schools … Safer Communities
This discussion paper was part of a public consultation on ensuring that our schools are as safe as possible through a public review of the Safe Schools Act provisions in the Education Act.
- Shaping Safer Schools: A Bullying Prevention Action Plan
This report is an action plan for principals, teachers, and other educators, students, parents, and the broader community around bullying-related issues.
- Safe Schools Action Team Reference Groups (2005)
Safe Schools Action Team mandate was to ensure that every student is safe and feels safe at school and on school grounds.
(Source: www.edu.gov.on.ca)