On June 21, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its decision in York Region District School Board v. Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario. The decision establishes that Ontario school boards are “government”—and thus subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter)—and provides guidance on how alleged breaches of an employee’s Charter-based right…
Tag: Education Act
Proposed Regulatory Amendments to Teacher Assignment and Proficiency in Mathematics
The Ontario government recently posted two regulatory amendments related to teacher assignments and proficiency in mathematics for comment. The first is the Proposed Regulatory Amendments to Teacher Assignments. Regulation 298 made under the Education Act mandates that principals must assign their teachers to the best possible program, in accordance with the teacher’s qualifications or as…
Consultation Regarding the Director of Education Performance Appraisal
The Ministry of Education has announced that a new regulation may be proposed which would set out the requirements and process for monitoring and evaluating the performance of directors of education. The Ministry of Education has begun a consultation seeking input from stakeholders on this initiative. The details of the consultation are discussed below. Background…
Ontario Introduces Bill 13; Proposes Changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Education Act
On October 7, 2021, the Ontario government introduced Bill 13, Supporting People and Businesses Act, 2021 (Bill 13) for first reading. Among other things, Bill 13 includes proposed amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act as well as to the Education Act. Occupational Health and Safety Proposed amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety…
Osgoode Professional Development: Legal Guide to Special Education Law
On October 30, 2020, Joseph co-presented “Balancing Legal Obligations While Maintaining a Safe School” at Osgoode Professional Development’s Annual Special Education Conference.
Ontario Legislation Extends Time Limit for Student Expulsions
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.
School’s (Almost) Out! Our Final School Board Update for the 2018-2019 School Year
As another academic year draws to a close and we are finally getting a glimpse of summer, we bring you our last School Board Update of the Spring term. In it, we discuss two arbitration awards
Recent Developments of Note
On March 15, 2019, the Ministry of Education outlined several new initiatives in a plan entitled “Education that Works for You” which will have a significant impact on the school board sector. In this School Board Update, we summarize the key initiatives.
School Boards Take Note: Recent Developments of Interest
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.
That’s a Wrap – Final School Board Update of 2018
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.