Bill 13 and 14
Both Bill 13 and 14 are competing proposed Ontario legislations that target the act of bullying in schools. Both bills are currently in final stages of study by a legislature committee and the public is being consulted. Once the consultation process is finalized by the end of May, one of the bills or a combined version of it will become an amendment to the Education Act of Ontario. The impact is expected to be significant as every school board and every school will have no choice but to comply with this legislation with no discretions.The present is the time for youto make a difference and to have your voices heard, but this is your last chance.
How the two bills are different
On the surface, the two bills appear to be similar. However, if you spend time to go through them in details, you will find that they have noticeable differences. Bill 13 is “An Act to amend the Education Act with respect to bullying and other matters”. Bill 14 is “An Act to designate Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week in Schools and to provide for bullying prevention curricula, policies and administrative accountability in schools.”The title says it all, Bill 13 is about bullying and other matters. Bill 13 focuses not only on bullying prevention but also on the promotion of special interest groups in our schools (e.g. gay-straight alliance).
There are two greatest concerns for us with Bill 13:
- Section 2: Requirement of boards to develop and implement an equity and inclusive education policy and, if required bythe Minister, submit the policy to the Minister andimplement changes to the policy as directed by the Minister.
- This section takes away any potential input from parents in the formulation of education policy.
- Teachers, principals, volunteers and the public also don’t have a say.
- The final decision rests with the Minister (and their parties’ ideology).
- Section 9: every board shall support pupils who want to establish and lead activities or organizations that promote gender equity, anti-racism, awareness of people with disabilities and people of all sexual orientation and gender identities.
- This section again takes away any potential input from parents. This becomes a matter between the pupils and the education board and no one else. Parents do not have the rights to say “no” and your children must learn about them.
- It implies the legislation applies to all boards (including Catholic or private).
- Pupils will not necessarily get the support from the board for activities on other causes (e.g. anti-religion discrimination).
How you can Make a Difference
Signing petitions is no longer useful for your voices to be heard. The most powerful way in expressing your views is for each person to write a personal letter to the legislature to point out the areas of concerns in the legislation.
The deadline for any written submission is 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Mr. Katch Koch
Clerk of the Standing Committee on Social Policy
99 Wellesley Street West Room 1405
Whitney Block, Queen's Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A2
Fax: (416) 325-3505
*To ensure certainty of receipt of the letter, you may send it via registered mail.
[Return Address]
May 8, 2012
Mr. Katch Koch
Clerk of the Standing Committee on Social Policy
99 Wellesley Street West Room 1405
Whitney Block, Queen's Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A2
Dear Mr. Koch,
Subject: Written Submissions Regarding Bill 13
I am writing to the Standing Committee on Social Policy to express my grave concerns for specific sections of Bill 13.
Section 2(1) proposes changes to Paragraph 29.1 of subsection 8 (1) of the Education Act and will “require boards to develop and implement an equityand inclusive education policy, and, if required bythe Minister, submit the policy to the Minister andimplement changes to the policy as directed by the Minister”. We strongly believe that parental rights must be at the forefront in the development of any education policy, in which has a direct impact on our children. This is clearly neglected in the proposed Bill. In addition, inputs from other stakeholders including school trustees, teachers, school administrators and the public areessential in forming good policies that benefit future generationsand the public.The collective collaboration of various stakeholders will ensureexpertises are drawn from multiple angles in forming complete, non biased policies.
Section 9 proposes changes to Paragraph 303.1 of the Education Act and specifies that every board shall support pupils who want to establish and lead activities or organizations that promote gender equity, anti-racism, awareness of people with disabilities and people of all sexual orientation and gender identities. We object to Section 9 for two primary reasons. First, this amendment specifies the establishment of the four aforementioned activities or organizations in schools is a direct matter between pupils and the board. This prevents any input from parents, teachers, school administrators or the public. We believe this is a clear violation of parental rights. Second, Section 9 is written in such a way that only the four mentioned activities/organizations are explicitly sanctioned. If pupils want to promote specific activities/organizations such as anti-poverty, anti-religion discrimination or even anti-discrimination against people with iPhones, etc, they may not be successful. Why would the government choose to protect only these four forms of discrimination when the basis of bullying is ever evolving?
In summary, we need good legislations that protect our children from bullying for all causes not just the four, and not only for just today but also for future generations to come We strongly believe with greater input from parents, teachers, school administrators and the public in all processes and at all levels, the legislation will become much more effective in stopping bullying in schools.
Yours truly
[signature]
[Name]
[Address with postal code]