Ontario's Bill 33: the Supporting Children and Students Act has raised concerns among parent groups, some fearing it may undermine parental input in their children's education and local accountability.

The bill, introduced late last month, will strengthen government oversight, accountability and transparency in public school boards, postsecondary education and children’s aid societies while increasing the safety, well-being and academic and personal achievement of children and youth. It would allow the Minister of Education, Paul Calandra, to initiate investigations into school boards based on concerns about matters of public interest, such as financial mismanagement, governance issues and the failure to meet duties under the Education Act. If issues are found, the Minister can assume control of a board’s powers.

It would also require school boards to implement School Resource Officer (SRO) programs where they are offered by local police services. SROs were removed from numerous school boards during Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police movement protests some five years ago. 

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Celine Traynor, director of communications for Parents as First Educators, fears the Bill 33 will give undue power to the province.

“The proposed legislation may sound good because the Ontario government claims that it is going after the politicization of school boards, and it's allowing itself to go over the trustees if necessary. However, the Ford government has a terrible track record of parental rights, such as in sex ed and certain inappropriate materials in schools,” she said. 

“We are going to voice our concerns with it by reaching out to parents and listening to what they have to say. We believe that this will not improve the relationship between schools and parents, because school boards are the one place where parents can openly voice their concerns... The board should be held accountable to the parents first, not the minister.”  

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Joe Perri, co-executive director of the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education, said OAPCE will remain committed to preserving the faith-centric governance model of Catholic schools — one rooted in collaboration between parents, elected Catholic trustees and clergy. Perri says that until that framework is compromised, the organization will continue to be an engaged partner in policy dialogue and consultations with the Ministry of Education and Catholic education partners.

“Our ultimate aim is to make certain that Catholic schools are faithful to their mission, educating students in mind, body and spirit, and that local boards have the autonomy necessary to reflect the Gospel values at the centre of Catholic education,” said Perri.

Bill 33 is part of the Ontario government’s recent crackdown on financial mismanagement within Catholic and public school boards. A supervisor was appointed for the Thames Valley District School Board after a staff retreat to Toronto cost taxpayers $40,000. It found the board has been running significant deficits for several years, causing cutbacks to services for students.

Four other school boards were being looked into by the province earlier this year — Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic, Ottawa-Carleton and the Toronto Catholic and public boards. The Brant Haldimand Norfolk board spent $190,000 of the public’s money on a trip to Italy to buy art for a school. Included was $63,000 spent managing the fallout once the story broke. 

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Markus de Domenico, chair of the Toronto Catholic District School Board, in a statement, said the board already "has several measures in place that reflect the spirit of the Minister’s proposed legislation, enhance transparency and ensure our time, as well as resources, are focused where they have the greatest impact," and "will continue to partner with the province to strengthen our financial position and advance our shared goal, which includes preparing students for future success, fostering safe and healthy learning environments and equipping educators with the resources they need to support student achievement.”  

Bill 33 continues to progress through the legislature and on June 5, the second reading of the bill was debated. There is no date confirmed for the next reading of the bill.