Police in schools debate revived by proposed Ontario legislation

CBC

2 days ago

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A new bill by the Ontario government would force some school boards to put police officers in schools, and it has revived a debate in Ottawa about the role of police in the school system.
The proposed legislation would require school boards to implement a school resource officer (SRO) program — which places officers in elementary and high schools — if one is offered by the local police service. It would go into effect in the next school year.
"I completely disagreed when the decision was made in a number of boards to withdraw [SROs] from the school," Minister of Education Paul Calandra said at a Thursday news conference.
"We're going to make sure that we work on doing it in a way that is beneficial to students and teachers."
But some Ottawa trustees and advocates say the legislation would undermine local authority, and the presence of police would be more harmful than helpful to students.
Board voted to end program
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) trustees voted in June 2021 to cut the SRO program, after a review prompted by concerns among racialized and LGBTQ students. The Ottawa Police Service subsequently ended the program at all school boards in the city.
In January 2025, it started a new program that assigned one officer to each of Ottawa's four school districts to support educators without being stationed inside of school buildings.
It was a response to a "larger trend" of violence in schools, developed in consultation with school boards, according to police.
OPS Staff Sgt. Fernando Vieira, who works in the replacement school program, said the new provincial legislation "won't necessarily change" the approach of OPS — but added police will have a conversation with the school boards "and it's up to the school boards to invite us in."
'Undermining' local governance
OCDSB trustee Lyra Evans said the province is undermining local elected officials.
"[The OCDSB] spent a significant amount of time [and] resources ... creating a report to get a feel for what the local community feels about police involvement in schools," Evans said.
"There are local differences ... so having locally elected trustees make these decisions based on all of the best evidence that we have available makes sense."
Since 2021, the OPS has repeatedly reaffirmed it still wants officers in schools.
"We never should have had police officers not engage with our youth," Vieira said in an interview this week.
"[Police are not] looking for opportunities to charge youth. It really is to build our relationship with our youth, build the trust."
Who is helped
But that relationship-building is a "myth," according to Robin Browne, founder of advocacy group 613-819 Black Hub. The group supported the fight to remove police from schools and is also involved in an ongoing lawsuit against the police board over a different matter.
Browne cited the 2021 review performed by the OCDSB, which found that the "common narrative" among members of the OPS that the primary role of the SRO is to focus on building relationships is not reflected in the policies, practice or impact of the program.
The review concluded that a police presence prevents some students "from fully enjoying their right to education without discrimination." Similar conclusions were drawn by a report from the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
Kaveeta Ajwani wants the SRO program to return for the safety of her children, who attend Vimy Ridge Public School. She served on its parent council while the SRO program was active.
"My kids had major bullying issues, and the bullying did increase once the SRO program was taken away," she said. "It had to get to an extreme situation to be able to contact the police ... which I don't think was right."
Ajwani said she's spent time volunteering with the OPS and added it's been valuable to expose her children to police officers.
"[Police] are a valuable part of the community and the only way that the next generation is going to grow up to learn to respect them and know that they're the good guys is by having them involved in the community," she said.
The legislation could change as it passes through the legislature, Evans noted. The OCDSB trustees will consider the board's relationship with OPS at its meeting on June 3.