Safe Schools Act Deemed Unfair To Racial Minorities
Jonathan Fowlie, The Globe and Mail (Canada), May 11
The province’s latest Safe Schools Act should be repealed because its “zero tolerance” approach to discipline is being used unfairly against children from racial minorities, a Toronto District School Board task force says.
The panel’s report, which will be made public today and presented to the TDSB board of trustees next week, includes information from 16 separate hearings at which parents, community organizations and others shared their concerns about the zero-tolerance policy.
“It is clear that the perceived heavy-handedness [of the policy] on the one hand, and the perceived lack of interest in looking at mitigating factors on the other hand has resulted in distressful, toxic relationships between too many parents and administrators,” the 24-page report says, recommending that the school board ask the government to repeal the act.
The three-year-old Safe Schools Act calls for zero tolerance for any type of violent acts. For example, it requires a principal to expel a student who commits an assault with a weapon that causes injury.
In December, the board established the task force led by trustee Chris Bolton and Urban Alliance on Race Relations president Zanana Akande to study the policy and how it is implemented in schools.
The Task Force on Safe and Compassionate Schools found the policy has left students feeling disenfranchised not only from their schools but also from society.
“Because we come from a certain neighbourhood, we are judged in a certain way,” a Somali community member told the task force. “Parents are embattled by a system that does not understand either their cultural views or respect their struggles to parent effectively.”
The report goes on to say that a number of parents feel the system is biased and discriminatory and they feel it is time “to launch some kind of class-action suit against the board and the province.”
Although no information is available on suspensions or expulsions by race, the task force says the anecdotal evidence is strong enough to suggest a problem.
“There are definitely some concerns from people who don’t feel they are being dealt with in a reasonable fashion,” Mr. Bolton said.
He said the task force has recommended the Safe Schools Act be repealed because that could open the door for the TDSB to adapt its disciplinary policies to be more inclusive and preventative.
The report criticizes the zero-tolerance policy for simply punishing bad behaviour and not working to prevent it. “Current bullying programs appear to be ineffective by themselves, while one-on-one interventions were virtually non-existent,” it says.
Mr. Bolton also highlighted the recommendation for a group of trustees, community members and staff to monitor school board disciplinary policies on a continuing basis.