The draft rules would require Ontario school boards to allow officers in safety programs, career days festivals and more
The Doug Ford government is considering new rules to allow police presence at school extracurricular activities, lockdown drills and mentorship programs, as part of the return of a program that would see school boards work with police departments.
The regulatory proposal comes nearly a decade after the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) ended its school resource officer (SRO) program over concerns that a heavier police presence in schools made students “feel uncomfortable, intimidated, and/or watched or targeted.”
The proposal stems from Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act passed earlier this year, which gave the Ford government sweeping powers to reform Ontario’s education system, including mandating that school boards work with local police services to bring back SRO programs.
If adopted, boards would have to let officers take part in a wide variety of programs, including student safety initiatives, emergency drills, road safety lessons, youth engagement and mentorship programs, and student well-being activities.
Police could also attend career days, fundraisers, festivals and other community events, either in uniform or in plain clothes. Off-site board-run programs would also have to allow police participation, though outside organizations using school space, such as after-school programs, would not be required to include them.
The proposal would also mean school boards and local police departments would have to sign a memorandum of understanding that would outline the framework for SRO programs, including how students and parents would be involved in the process.
However, if a school board and a local police department can’t come to an agreement because the department “is not able to support the implementation of these requirements,” the province won’t force the school board to participate.
Education Minister Paul Calandra said the move would restore “a sense of security into our schools” and “gives our students the opportunity to connect in a very real way with police officers.”
TDSB statistics show that violent incidents on school property remain well above pre-pandemic levels.
His office also said it would work to bring the program back in a way “that makes them part of the school community.”
Chandra Pasma, the NDP’s education critic at Queen’s Park, criticized the move, saying it goes “far beyond safety” and would “force school boards to open their doors to police involvement in virtually every aspect of school life, from classrooms to career days, without meaningful local consent.”
-with files from The Trillium’s Katherine DeClerq and Sneh Duggal