Note: Please share the information in this memorandum with all school
board personnel.
Introduction
The Ministry of Education and Training is committed to ensuring that
schools are violence free so that students may have safe learning
environments in which to reach their full potential.
In November 1993, the Minister of Education and Training announced an
action plan to address the issue of violence in schools. In this action
plan, ten initiatives were identified that were to be launched
immediately. Two of the initiatives referred to policy directions to
school boards - one on the development of violence-prevention policies and
the other on the reporting of violent incidents to the police and the
ministry and on the recording of violent incidents.
The Policy Document on Violence Prevention
The document Violence-Free Schools Policy is a directive
intended for school boards. It outlines the process for developing a
violence-prevention policy and the mandatory components of the policy. The
document also outlines the required procedures to follow for the reporting
of violent incidents to the police and the ministry and for the recording
of such incidents in the Ontario Student Record (OSR).
The ministry is aware that school boards are at different stages in
developing policies on violence prevention and procedures for reporting
and recording violent incidents. School boards and minority- language
sections that have related policies already in place shall review and
revise their policies to ensure that they are in keeping with Violence-Free
Schools Policy.
Community Involvement
School boards' violence-prevention policies shall be developed in
collaboration with a wide range of community partners – for example,
parents, students, educators, police, and representatives from social
agencies – and shall take into account the policies on antiracism and
ethnocultural equity that school boards are developing.
Approval of Policies and Implementation Plans
School boards and minority-language sections shall submit their
violence-prevention policies and implementation plans to the appropriate
regional office of the Ministry of Education and Training no later than
June 30, 1995. The ministry will review the policies and plans to ensure
that they are in keeping with Violence-Free Schools Policy.
Policies must be implemented or in place no later than September 1995.
Ministry Assistance
Staff members of the ministry's regional offices and the Violence
Prevention Secretariat are available to assist school boards in the
development and implementation of their policies. The addresses and
telephone numbers are provided below:
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