Articles

The Chair of the OBA's Education Law Section welcomes you to a new membership year and previews the exciting programming that the Section Executive is working on.

The government of Ontario announced that as of January 1, 2019, all universities and publicly-assisted colleges will be required to have a free speech policy that meets a minimum standard specified by the government.

In K.W. v. Toronto Catholic District School Board, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed an application for judicial review of a decision of the Toronto Catholic District School Board to transfer a Grade 12 student to a new school at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year.

In Talos v. Grand Erie District School Board, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario determined that a school board could not rely on a statutory carve-out under the Ontario Human Rights Code and Employment Standards Act, 2000 to justify ceasing benefits coverage at 65 years of age.

On April 4, 2018, the OBA Constitutional, Civil Liberties and Human Rights Section with the OBA Education Law Section hosted a panel to discuss key Charter and human rights developments in education law.

On February 7, 2018, the OBA Education Law Section held a panel discussion entitled "Education for All Students: Diversity and Inclusion in Education” as part of OBA Institute 2018. The panel brought together government, education and legal professionals to discuss how education professionals can help ensure schools are inclusive places for all students.

In Nova Scotia, anti-cyberbullying legislation and prosecutions for sharing intimate images without consent show legislative and judicial efforts to respond to cyberbullying.

In the recent decision of R. v. Jarvis, the Ontario Court of Appeal was split on whether or not high school students had a reasonable expectation of privacy while on school grounds.

The HRTO recently released a decision that it did not amount to discrimination under the Human Rights Code for a School Board to deny a student's request to have his autism assistance guide dog accompany him to school. This decision contains important guidance for practitioners about discrimination in the context of providing educational services, its relation to service animals, and the importance of the evidentiary foundation of your case.

On September 7, 2017, the Ministry of Education announced their three-year plan for education equity. The “Education Equity Action Plan” will serve as a roadmap in the province’s effort to identify and eliminate systemic barriers to student success.