The Safe and Supportive Schools Act

  • 20 décembre 2018
  • Greg Bush, associate, Miller Thomson LLP; Kennedy MacDonald, articling student, Miller Thomson LLP

On October 25, 2018, the Ontario Government continued their education reform by announcing Bill 48, the Safe and Supportive Classrooms Act, 2018, which is aimed at keeping Ontario’s children safer and ensuring better supports are available for learning. The Government also plans to proclaim existing provisions of legislation providing counselling and funding for students subjected to abuse by a member of the Ontario College of Teachers or College of Early Childhood Educators.

The proposed amendments in Bill 48 include automatic revocation of an educator’s certificate of registration for any act of sexual abuse of a student or child, mandating mathematics testing for new teachers, and providing regulation-making authority to the Minister of Education to establish policies and guidelines respecting service animals in schools.