New legislation could allow a police presence at all Ontario schools, even those where they have been told they are not welcome.
As part of sweeping changes to the province’s educational system, the Ontario government said it will order school boards to implement the School Resource Officer (SRO) program in areas where the service is offered by police departments.
The move comes several years after some school boards scrapped a similar program after complaints that officers frightened racialized students and over accusations that Black students were disproportionately being targeted for investigation.
Police departments in jurisdictions where the SRO program was eliminated, such as Toronto, Hamilton and Peel Region, have not yet indicated if they will make officers available.
Some school boards in the province have continually maintained the program.
Introduced today (May 29), the SRO plan is one aspect of the Supporting Children and Students Act, designed to give the Ministry of Education more control over the operation of school systems across the province.
Government sources say Queen’s Park wants to see the presence of officers in urban schools because of increasing violence and criminal activity that often goes unreported.
“Having an officer present in the (school) building makes a difference,” a source familiar with the SRO program told INsauga.com. “They not only foster good relations with the students, their presence can keep a lid on bad behaviour.”
A veteran teacher with the Toronto District School Board said that since the program was eliminated in 2017, bullying, theft, fights, drug sales and gang activity in the classroom have mirrored that which is occurring on city streets. The teacher said some schools are no longer a safe haven for children and youth.
“They (the SRO) should never have been taken away,” said the teacher who asked to remain anonymous. “It’s hard to believe that students would be more afraid of the police than of gang members, but that was the thinking back then. But the problems have gotten worse. Nobody will say so publicly, but it has. Teachers and administrators can do little to control what is going on.”
The teacher acknowledged that not all schools face daily problems, but said most are not immune, and that it affects both public and Catholic high schools.
Still, since the reforms were announced, unions representing teachers immediately condemned the proposed changes that will come into effect beginning in the fall, in time for the next school year.
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) said the plan of the Ford government is to take control away from democratically elected school board trustees and place it in the hands of one person, the Minister of Education.
“This is not education reform; it’s authoritarianism cloaked in the language of accountability, designed to deflect blame, suppress dissenting voices, and tighten political control over a public education system this government has failed to adequately fund,” said the ETFO in a release.
As for the SRO program, the union said it has long opposed it and pointed to an Ontario Human Rights Commission report that found “police in schools may subject Black and other racialized children, and particularly Black boys, to a higher level of surveillance that could ultimately significantly impact their mental health and education.”
The Police Association of Ontario said it welcomes the news of a return to the SRO program to some of the country’s largest school boards.
“The School Resource Officer program plays a crucial role in fostering trust, safety and mentorship within our schools,” said Mark Baxter, president of the police association. “The Ontario government’s decision to support and mandate SRO programs where local police services offer them is a significant step towards building stronger, safer communities.”
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