Latest news with #VancouverSchoolBoard
Global News
3 days ago
- Health
- Global News
B.C. to require all schools to be equipped with AEDs, naloxone
Every school in British Columbia will soon be required to be equipped with two types of lifesaving tool. The B.C. Ministry of Education has issued a new mandate requiring schools to have automated external defibrillators (AEDs) — tools used to jumpstart a heart during a cardiac arrest — and naloxone kits that can reverse an overdose. The mandate requires the tools to be in all high schools by the end of this year, while elementary schools must carry the equipment by September 2026. The move follows advocacy by Grade 11 student Tobias Zhang and a group of his peers at Point Grey Secondary in Vancouver, who mobilized after a friend died of a cardiac event in 2022. 2:06 B.C. education minister supports AEDs in schools In January, following multiple meetings with Zheng and his classmates, the Vancouver School Board (VSB) passed its own district-wide AED policy. Story continues below advertisement Now the Education Ministry is taking the idea provincewide. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'This is a significant victory for the Point Grey students who really advocated for this, and I'm incredibly grateful for all the support that they've had and all the work that they've done,' said Melnaie Cheng, chair of the Vancouver District Parent Advisory Council. Under the mandate, Grade 10 students across the province will also learn how to use AEDs and to perform CPR as a part of their physical and health education curriculum. 'CPR training is just a critical life skill that every student should have,' Cheng said. 'This initiative is not only beneficial for students, but also for staff. It just promotes health and safety for everyone at school sites.' However, while Naloxone will be kept in schools, students won't be trained on how to use it. Leslie McBain, co-founder of Moms Stop the Harm, believes that's a missed opportunity. 'It is a shame, really, that they are not being given the training even basic just basic overview of what it takes,' she said. 'Having kids know about naloxone, know what to do, know what an overdose looks like is a really good thing. They potentially will save lives.' Story continues below advertisement 2:03 Vancouver School Board refuses to implement life-saving device While the new provincial policy requires schools to acquire, inspect and maintain AEDs, it does not come with a boost in funding. According to the ministry, 97 per cent of B.C. school districts already have the devices in some or all schools. Vancouver School Trustee Jennifer Reddy said that because of the new policy approved this year, the VSB has already budgeted $250,000 for the tools. But she acknowledged the mandate is yet another pressure on already stretched districts. 'There's no question public schools are underfunded and we're being tasked to do more and more with less and less,' Reddy said. 'But there are decisions at the school district level that we can make that do align with our values … this announcement, in my view, is leadership, it is visionary, and it's an important step to set the bar of what is actually expected of us as a school district.' Story continues below advertisement However, it remains unclear how other districts that don't already have an AED program will cover the cost of installing the new tools. 'The province needs to engage with the districts in the rollout of this, and hopefully, in doing so, we can advocate if there are funding gaps,' Cheng said.
CBC
4 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Naloxone kits, defibrillators to be required in all B.C. high schools by December
Social Sharing Naloxone kits and defibrillators will be required in all secondary schools in British Columbia by the end of the year. The change is part of an updated healthy emergencies policy from the province that will also see Grade 10 students trained in first aid during gym class, beginning in September. Students will be taught CPR and how to use automated external defibrillators (AEDs), but schools will not be required to provide naloxone training, according to the Ministry of Education and Childcare. Tobias Zhang is happy about the changes. The Grade 12 student at Point Grey Secondary in Vancouver has been an advocate for AEDs in schools since his friend died after going into cardiac arrest at school three years ago. "There was no AED to help save my friend when he needed one," he said. A year after his friend died, Zhang founded a group to fundraise for the installation of an AED at his school. WATCH | Zhang calls for defibrillators in schools following friend's death: Student pushes for defibrillator access in Vancouver schools 8 months ago A Point Grey Secondary School student, whose friend died in 2022 during basketball practice, says having a defibrillator on site could have made all the difference. Tobias Zhang is now pushing to get the lifesaving technology into schools — something staff say they're working on. He says it took another year of meeting with school board chairs for the Vancouver School Board to accept his group's donation of about $14,000. In May, the board earmarked $250,000 of its own budget to purchase and install AEDs in all the district's facilities by September. More training needed Leslie McBain, co-founder of Moms Stop the Harm, commends the decision to stock schools with naloxone kits. "If someone does lose consciousness or go down from an overdose of toxic drugs, their life could probably be saved with naloxone," she said. However, she says she's disappointed that schools won't be required to train students on how to use the life-saving kits. She says that while giving nasal naloxone isn't complicated, training is essential because every second counts when someone is experiencing an overdose. "Until we get a safe supply of drugs in its many variations, those toxic drugs are going to be out there and overdose is a potential outcome," she said. More than 16,000 people have died from the toxic drugs crisis since B.C. declared it a public health emergency in 2016, over 200 of them under the age of 19. McBain says she thinks naloxone training could also make students more alert to the risks of using substances and serve as an educational intervention to prevent overdoses. Abbotsford going a step further In the Abbotsford School District, students will get that extra education. They will be trained on how to administer naloxone, as well as perform CPR and use an AED, according to superintendent Nathan Ngieng. Ngieng says he believes naloxone kits are an important safety measure. "We've seen incidents of overdose death in Abbotsford here, so equipping young people to respond in those emergency situations is really important," he said. He says Abbotsford schools have already had AEDs for close to 10 years and one has already been used to save a student's life. "Because we've had a real-life application, it really hits home for us in terms of understanding how this simple act of including this learning standard could save the life of a student or individual," he said.
CTV News
30-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Student changing incident at Vancouver school not criminal, police say
There was nothing criminal about an incident at a Vancouver school that raised the concerns of a local mother earlier this month, according to police. Jasmine Barahona spoke out after her six-year-old son returned home from χpey̓ Elementary on May 7 wearing different clothes, and told her a man had changed him in the school's basement. The incident prompted separate investigations from the Vancouver School Board and the Vancouver Police Department, and a school district staff member was placed on leave. On Thursday, police confirmed their investigation has concluded. 'It was determined no criminal offence occurred,' Const. Tania Visintin told CTV News, in a statement. Visintin also said the mother 'did the right thing' by coming forward. 'Any time anyone comes forward with safety concerns or safety concerns for their child, we will absolutely conduct a thorough investigation,' she added. Contacted for comment, Barahona told CTV News she had not been informed of the outcome of the investigation – and that she still has questions about what happened at the school. 'All I wanted was answers,' Barahona said, of her decision to speak out. The mother said she's been told the incident happened because an employee thought her son 'looked wet.' 'His story was that he let (my son) pick out clothes in this room, then he stood outside as he got dressed and said, 'If you need help, say so.' And he said he did, and then helped him pull up his pants,' Barahona said. The mother said she's received inconsistent messages from the district and police, leaving her skeptical about the process. She pulled her son out of class following the incident, and remains unsure about allowing him to return. The Vancouver School Board told CTV News its internal investigation is ongoing. A spokesperson could not provide any information on the process, citing privacy concerns, but said the district is taking the mother's concerns 'very seriously.' 'Our top priority is student safety and well-being,' the spokesperson said. With files from CTV News Vancouver's Isabella Zavarise
Vancouver Sun
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Vancouver council reinstates funding for school meal programs
Vancouver council will reinstate full funding for school meal programs after a unanimous vote of support on Wednesday. The motion, from councillors Peter Fry and Rebecca Bligh, came after council reported earlier this month that it was reducing funding for school food programs from $320,000 in 2024 to $162,500 in 2025. This decision was made based on an expectation that the provincial and federal governments had agreed to increase funding to school food programs. However, according to Fry, the provincial and federal government funding model meant the Vancouver School Board would not receive enough to bridge the gap. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim shared an emotional memory of his mom being arrested for shoplifting due to the family's food insecurity. 'I would see the fear in my mom's face,' Sim said. 'It is a real thing and make no mistake about it, as long as I am Mayor of the City of Vancouver regardless of whose responsibility it is, kids and families experiencing food insecurity will have my support.' Sim added an amendment to the motion asking the Ministry of Education to provide a 'clear explanation' about how food funding is distributed across B.C.'s 60 school districts, 'including how the socioeconomic status index is calculated and applied to ensure that Vancouver is receiving its fair share of federal funding. Since 2014, the city has provided $320,000 from its annual operating budget to support 3,500 meals each weekday through various programs, including the Food4Schools lunch program, which subsidizes meals to 258 students across 17 schools. In March 2025, the B.C. government entered into an agreement with the government of Canada through the national school food program, which provides about $39 million over three years in additional school food program funding. Fry said that the funding was allocated using a formula based on socioeconomic status for each school within the district. This 'needs assessment' model 'can inadvertently exclude some individuals who may not meet strict eligibility criteria but still face food insecurity,' said Fry. With a file from Denise Ryan dcarrigg@
CTV News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Vancouver council unanimously votes to re-instate funding for school meal program
City councillors unanimously approved a motion Wednesday to re-instate funding for the Vancouver School Board to provide meals to students in need. The motion, put forward by councillors Rebecca Bligh and Pete Fry, brings back $325,000 in annual support for the school meal program, until the VSB can secure alternative funding. The city previously announced it would reduce the funding to $162,500 due to budget pressures, and because of additional support coming from the B.C. government. 'We had sort of been told by staff that we were going to sunset that funding because there was new funding coming in,' explained Fry. 'We then learned that that funding would be insufficient to meet the needs.' The VSB learned in April that the anticipated funding allocations would be 'substantially reduced based on a provincial formula socioeconomic status index,' according to the motion. Bligh and Fry's motion also requires Mayor Ken Sim to push both the provincial and federal governments to step up, something he said he fully supports. 'The city stepped up in the past when, you know, senior levels of government didn't deal with their accountability – because it is a senior-level government accountability,' said Sim. The reversal was celebrated by school board trustees, who were alarmed when the city reduced the program's funding. 'Of course, it's never enough,' said board chair Victoria Jung, speaking outside council chambers Wednesday. 'The goal is universal food, universal food for all – and so we'll continue to ask for more funding, and to advocate for students and K-12 education in Vancouver.' Sim said there are funding gaps in the province, with students in Vancouver receiving less than those in Surrey. He said he'll be asking the province to address those concerns and to provide full transparency in how funding is distributed across B.C.'s 60 school districts. 'We are asking the province to be a little, you know, transparent in the sense that – show us how you allocate the funding, show us the formula, and then, you know, address any inequities because at the end of the day we are dealing with vulnerable families,' the mayor said. Sim also said the Vancouver School Board never raised concerns about the city's funding cut when it was first notified, which he called 'disappointing.' 'They had months to bring this forward during the city's budget process,' he said. Bligh said she's happy all councillors are on board with re-instating the funding. 'I am really grateful for the cross-partisan support on this issue,' she said. 'Universality around the school food program is the ultimate goal.' The city has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to the VSB annually in support of various food programs since 2014, serving 3,500 meals to students each day.
