Parents and politicians vow to continue the fight
By KIM ZARZOUR (The Liberal)
New legislation passed this week at Queen's Park dealing with how schools handle bullying incidents won't do much to stop student-on-student violence, say parents, politicians and teacher groups.
A growing coalition of parents from across the province view the new law, called Keeping Our Kids Safe at School Act, as a battle lost, but a war just begun.
Passed Monday, Bill 157 comes into effect on February 1, 2010. It requires school staff to report serious student incidents to the principal and requires principals to contact the parents of victims. It also requires school staff to respond to inappropriate or disrespectful behavior among students.
The McGuinty government is calling it an "unprecedented" document, the first of its kind in Canada designed to address gaps in the reporting process.
But a statement released Tuesday by several parent groups, including the London Anti-bullying Coalition and a fledgling York Region branch of that coalition, says the act offers nothing new and fails to address a lack of accountability in schools.
The parents, NDP education critic Rosario Marchese, and Tory MPPs Peter Shurman and Joyce Savoline had been pushing for tougher legislation, including a law requiring principals to report serious incidents to police, Children's Aid Societies or school board administrators.
But their calls for mandatory reporting, better documentation of incidents and safety plans for victims didn't get past the Liberal-dominated standing committee that reviewed the bill.
Committee member and MPP Shurman called the bill a "Liberal PR stunt".
"This bill is a diversion like bait-and-switch or false hope," the Thornhill politician told the House last week. Mr. Shurman recounted victim testimony made at the standing committee by "tearful mothers" and "damaged children".
"I watched tearful members of the Liberal government sit opposite to me while the mother of an eight-year-old talked about how her son was held down and restrained by other young children while another child performed oral sex on her eight-year-old son. If that doesn't raise your hackles, what does? The mother was there [telling her story at Queen's Park] because she never got news [of her son's assault] until she pried it out of her son."
Such trauma could be prevented, Mr. Shurman said, if principals were required to report incidents of abuse. Instead, other school staff are required to report under the act, but principals can use their discretion.
"What makes principals so important? No school principal should have the absolute authority when it comes to the safety of Ontario's students."
Under the new legislation, principals can decide not to tell a victim's parents if they believe the victim would be at further risk. They are expected to follow board protocol to determine whether or not to inform police.
Liz Sandals, the education minister's parliamentary assistant, said many of the changes requested by parents and politicians are being considered by the ministry, but should be incorporated into policy and regulations, rather than provincial law.
That makes the bill an "empty gesture," Mr. Shurman said.
York-Simcoe MPP Julia Munro shared the disappointment. "Obviously we need to look at the best ways to help prevent these situations that are sometimes absolutely horrific and will stay with children for the rest of their lives.
"The bill was supposed to close the reporting gap, but it's just papering over it."
NDP critic Rosario Marchese said he too was moved to tears by the parents who spoke about their experiences.
"Based on the information that I heard, the principals dealt with them very, very poorly, if not badly."
While he supported the bill "reluctantly", he criticized the Liberals for "simply putting in the form of law what we are already doing in practice. "What's left of this skimpy bill is that teachers now have to report to the principal. It doesn't say what the schools should
do once you report it. It doesn't talk about prevention, and it doesn't talk about what we do once we have the report about a problem in the school."
Meanwhile a growing number of families are adding their voice to press for changes. Parents from Brantford to Durham are joining with the London Anti-bullying Coalition to denounce the bill, and vowing to make bullying an election issue.
Karen Sebben, a Holland Landing mother who is organizing a York Region anti-bullying coalition, said the legislation offers parents false hope.
"When I think of all the wonderful accomplishments that could have been achieved with this legislation, the only thing that I come away with is, what a waste of taxpaying dollars."
Mrs. Sebben's son Daniel, 18, who was bullied for years and joined the coalition at the committee hearings last month, said he is disappointed his voice wasn't heard - but not disillusioned.
"I'm upset, but what can you do? We did our best and we'll just continue to do our best."
The London and York Region coalitions are ramping up the fight, taking the message to youtube and Facebook to spread the word that "the system is broken".
"Our politicians need to know that voter frustration with this system (which Bill 157 fails to address) is now at its peaking point," said Georgina resident Jason Koblovksy and supporter of the coalition.
While representatives of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation said it agrees with "the direction and spirit" of the bill, the union expressed concern with "the lack of any procedural clarity or training.
"The act does not give any clear sense of a hierarchy of responsibility, leaving education workers to wonder what takes precedence, their assigned duty or an incident outside of their classroom," the teachers said in a press release. The act also fails to set out which staff will require what training to respond to youth violence, and who will provide that training.