Safeguarding the Education Rights
of Children and Youth in Ontario
Accompanying Text
Slide 1
Welcome to a presentation on the Child Advocacy Project. The Child Advocacy Project (CAP) is a collection of free legal programs that Pro Bono Law Ontario offers to serve low-income children, youth and families in Ontario.
Pro Bono Law Ontario is a registered charity launched in 2002 to improve access to justice for people of limited means by creating and promoting opportunities for lawyers to provide volunteer legal services.
For more information about Pro Bono Law Ontario, visit www.pblo.org.
For more information about CAP, visit www.childadvocacy.ca .
The focus of this presentation is CAP’s Education Law program, which helps children and youth in Ontario resolve legal challenges to their rights at school.
The presentation is designed for community-based advocates, social service providers and parents or guardians. It contains information on how to ensure that students’ rights at school are protected.
Students are welcome to listen. They will also find resources designed especially for them at www.jfcy.org
Slide 2
What is CAP’s Education Law program? It is a free legal service that helps protect education rights and resolve legal problems at school.
CAP brings volunteer lawyers, who have been trained in education law, together with students who feel their legal rights at school have been denied. When they and their parents or guardians have been unsuccessful at resolving issues on their own, they contact CAP for assistance.
CAP volunteers provide legal services, free of charge.
Slide 3
CAP promotes awareness of students’ legal rights. The program works to ensure legal rights are observed and administrative procedures in school matters are lawfully followed. When a student’s rights are denied, a volunteer lawyer’s early intervention and timely resolution can help minimize school disruption.
Parents and guardians don’t always know the best approach to take when students’ rights are denied. Trying to resolve serious school matters without advocacy help can lead to frustration and further time away from school or without proper supports.
Slide 4
The CAP—Education Law Project is run by Pro Bono Law Ontario in partnership with The Advocates’ Society and Justice for Children and Youth.
CAP receives funding from The Law Foundation of Ontario.
Slide 5
Pro Bono Law Ontario is a small, charitable organization with a province-wide mandate that creates opportunities for private lawyers in Ontario to provide legal services pro bono – or free of charge – for eligible individuals.
Through partnerships with community-based organizations, Pro Bono Law Ontario (or PBLO) identifies the unresolved legal needs of low-income Ontarians, and develops projects to match volunteer lawyers with eligible individuals and families.
PBLO projects are created in areas of the law that are not covered by Legal Aid Ontario.
The best way to understand PBLO’s role is as a facilitator between clients and volunteer lawyers. PBLO conducts all recruitment, community outreach, client intake and referrals to volunteer lawyers. PBLO itself does not provide legal services.
Slide 6
The Advocates’ Society (TAS) recruits volunteer lawyers from among its members.
CAP volunteer lawyers come from diverse professional backgrounds, but they all share the desire to help young people keep their education on track.
Slide 7
Justice for Children and Youth (JFCY) is a legal clinic in Toronto.
It specializes in areas of the law that affect children and youth, including education law.
JFCY lawyers help PBLO train and mentor CAP’s volunteer lawyers.
Slide 8
CAP was created by PBLO in 2002 in response to an increase in demand for school-rights legal advocacy, particularly among students and families outside of Toronto.
Safe Schools provisions of the Education Act were having an especially harmful effect on racialized students, students with disabilities and learning challenges, students living in poverty, and students in the care of child welfare authorities.
Slide 9
CAP volunteer lawyers provide free legal advocacy for students and their families.
This can include ensuring that administrative decisions are fair and follow correct legal procedure– such as the decision to suspend or expel a student, or a decision about access to special education. It also includes ensuring students’ legal rights are observed and upheld.
Slide 10
These are the most common reasons why students and families call CAP:
· A student has difficulty accessing special education services;
· A student has been unfairly or unlawfully suspended, expelled or excluded from school;
· A student is kept from enrolling in school or attending school;
· A student feels unsafe at school, for example because of bullying or harassment
Although there have been significant investments in education, schools in Ontario continue to lack resources and are unable to accommodate the needs of all students who require additional supports to succeed.
School officials sometimes make decisions that do not reflect correct legal procedure. These decisions can impact students’ ability to attend school, to feel safe and to succeed academically.
In some circumstances, legal advocacy is the only way to ensure students’ rights are upheld.
Slide 11
CAP often helps students whose problems at school have multiple factors.
For example, students who do not get support for ‘special needs’ – such as learning challenges, medical conditions or disabilities –are also more likely to face disciplinary measures. Without proper supports, these students may feel frustrated and act in ways that some school officials consider inappropriate or unsafe.
Slide 12
However, according to the law, disciplining these students – that is, suspending, expelling or excluding them – should be seen as a last resort.
School officials must consider the following ‘mitigating factors’ before pursuing discipline:
· Does the student have the ability to control their behaviour?
· Can the student understand the foreseeable consequences of their behaviour?
· Will the student’s continued presence in school create an unacceptable risk to the safety or well-being of any person?
Slide 13
School officials are also required to consider these and other factors before deciding on a disciplinary measure:
· The student’s history at school (meaning, is this the first incident or have there been others?)
· Whether progressive discipline has been used (in other words, did the principal begin with a suspension or were there warnings and opportunities to improve?)
· Was the student being bullied or harassed?
· How would a suspension affect the student’s education going forward?
· How old is the student? (Even children in kindergarten have been suspended, although most people agree they are too young for a suspension to be meaningful.)
Although these legal safeguards exist, many students continue to be suspended and expelled without consideration of these factors, that is to say, unlawfully.
Slide 14
It’s important to note that volunteer lawyers represent students and will take instructions from students unless they are very young, are unable to communicate with the lawyer or cannot appreciate the nature of the legal proceedings.
However, parents and guardians have what’s known as ‘standing’ or ‘procedural rights’, which means they are usually involved in resolving the legal matter.
Slide 15
CAP volunteer lawyers can provide students and families with a range of legal services.
When volunteer lawyers agree to consider taking a case, they start by determining the nature of the issue, then help clients choose the best strategy for success.
There are 4 general categories of legal assistance offered by CAP lawyers:
· Summary advice, where lawyers help students and parents/guardians understand their rights and obligations under the law;
· Brief intervention with school officials (by letter, phone call or in-person meeting);
· Mediation and/or negotiation with school officials;
· Representation at hearings and tribunals.
Lawyers will only communicate with school officials when requested to do so by their clients. Because of lawyer/client privilege rules, communication between lawyers and clients is confidential.
Slide 16
Generally speaking, people don’t think of calling lawyers to help them resolve problems at school.
However, as you have seen, many common education problems have solutions in the law.
Lawyers make excellent advocates for students and families because:
· They understand the legal process;
· They are impartial, which can be especially helpful in emotional circumstances where students and families have not felt respected or heard. They are also skilled at negotiation and are able to keep everyone on track and on point.
· They have credibility and just enough clout to get the attention of school officials, who typically prefer not to hear from lawyers;
· They can help students advocate better for themselves, and teach parents/guardians to be more effective advocates on their kids’ behalf;
· Finally, and most importantly, they help level the playing field for students and families. School officials have access to legal counsel and their decisions are informed by legal strategy. In many instances, students and parents/guardians without legal advocacy are at a strategic disadvantage.
Slide 17
So, how do people access CAP’s services?
CAP has two main eligibility criteria: financial and legal.
· The program is designed to assist families with low or modest income who could not afford to hire a lawyer.
· The situation must also be one in which a lawyer can see a legal solution. This is not true of all problems at school, however important they may be.
Slide 18
Students and parents or guardians can call the CAP coordinator at PBLO to discuss their situation.
The CAP coordinator will request that an application form be completed. This application form is available at our website, www.childadvocacy.ca Staff will then determine if the case meets eligibility criteria.
If so, the CAP coordinator will forward the application form to prospective volunteer lawyers.
Staff make every effort to match clients with volunteer lawyers within the shortest time possible. It is important to note, however, that volunteer lawyers provide pro bono legal services above and beyond their regular legal practice. As such, CAP cannot specify a time within which a case will be placed.
Slide 19
The good news is that CAP has an excellent track record in resolving education matters.
Volunteer lawyers are most likely to be successful when clients do their part to provide necessary information, keep appointments and stay within the boundaries of the retainer agreement established by the lawyer.
Slide 20
Finally, here are a few tips for students and their parents or guardians to consider when problems arise at school.
Start by knowing your legal rights:
Important information can be found on the website of every school board, especially policies about conduct and special education. Also, learn how many days you have to respond to notices of suspension or expulsion. Students have appeal rights, and timelines are tight.
Slide 21
Keep track of information and events as they happen. Having a written record of your interactions with school officials is helpful when trying to negotiate the best solution.
Also, in most matters, concerns and requests will only be followed up when made in writing. There is no way to be sure school officials have understood your concerns, or are taking action, if you are only communicating verbally.
Slide 22
Once you know your rights as well as school board policies and timelines, it’s easier to make sure school officials are following them.
Slide 23
Many parents and guardians comment that they find themselves at important school meetings alone, opposite a long line of professionals who are there to speak for the school.
To make the experience less intimidating, try and find out who will be attending meetings or other sessions.
You may also consider bringing a friend or advocate to meetings. And if you are not comfortable expressing yourself in English, you may wish to bring an interpreter. These measures may help you be better prepared.
Slide 24
It is especially important for students and their parents or guardians to fully understand everything the school is proposing before they commit to it.
Generally speaking, people can ask to sign documents (a special education plan, for example) after they have had the opportunity to speak with trusted supporters.
Slide 25
It is important to note that schools have no legal authority to compel a student to take medication. Students may decide whether or not to take medication, and school officials cannot legally keep them from school for deciding against taking it.
Finally, a successful resolution is much more likely when all parties act calmly and respectfully.
Slide 26
That is the end of our presentation.
You are welcome to circulate this presentation to students, parents, guardians and advocates you know across Ontario.
We encourage you to contact CAP with your questions and concerns about students’ rights at school.
Thank you for your time.