Publication Name: School Board Update

Ontario Legislation Extends Time Limit for Student Expulsions

· 2 min read

Bill 189, Coronavirus (COVID-19) Support and Protection Act, 2020 received Royal Assent on April 14, 2020 (Bill 189). Among other things, Bill 189 amends the Education Act (Act) to extend the time limit to expel a student where such an extension is recommended to, and granted by, the Director of Education.

Kindergarten Class Size Caps, Right to Remain Silent During a Board’s Investigation and More…

· 10 min read

In our first School Board Update of 2020, we discuss recent decisions of interest which look at kindergarten class size caps, whether a grievor had the right to remain silent during a school board’s investigation and whether a grievor was entitled to accommodation in respect of her commute to work. We also provide links to…

Supreme Court Privacy Case Affirms the Importance of School Safety

· 3 min read

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Canada held that a teacher committed the crime of voyeurism by surreptitiously recording images of female high school students. In finding that the students had a reasonable expectation of privacy, the Court relied on the trust imposed on teachers and the need for a safe and orderly school environment – a positive for school boards.

School Boards Take Note: Recent Developments of Interest

· 20 min read

In this Update, we discuss a recent decision of Arbitrator Nyman with respect to what constitutes a collective agreement and which re-affirms the longstanding principle that the interpretation of a collective agreement is first to be based on the plain and ordinary meaning of the written words. We also discuss a topical case with respect to a grievor’s obligation to produce arguably relevant medical documentation in the context of a grievance arbitration – notwithstanding the contractual restrictions that may exist.

IPC Publishes Guidance for School Boards on Their Obligations Under MFIPPA

· 4 min read

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) has published A Guide to Privacy and Access to Information in Ontario Schools (Guide). The Guide provides a succinct overview of a school board’s responsibilities under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA or Act). The Act obliges school boards to protect individual privacy and maintain the freedom of information for records in their custody or control. The Guide provides particularized examples from IPC decisions concerning school boards.

Health and Safety Disclosure Obligations: What You Need to Know

· 4 min read

What information is a school board required to provide to its joint health and safety committee (JHSC)? Following Arbitrator Parmar’s decision earlier this year in Toronto Catholic District School Board v. Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (Grievance re Health and Safety) (Award), many unions are demanding that school boards provide additional student-related information to the JHSC. Learn more about the decision – and what your organization should consider before complying with these requests – in this School Board Update.

That’s a Wrap – Final School Board Update of 2018

· 10 min read

In this School Board Update, we review two recent decisions which will be of interest to school boards. The first is an arbitration decision which considers the Ontario teacher performance assessment (TPA) process in a case where the termination of a teacher’s employment was upheld. The second is a decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario which concluded that a school board was not in violation of the Human Rights Code when it did not provide Applied Behavioural Analysis / Intensive Behavioural Intervention to a young student.