Ontario called on to do more to combat school violence as some teachers forced to wear protective gear

The Ontario NDPs are calling on the province to do more to combat violence in schools, alongside educators who revealed some of them have been forced to wear protective gear in class.

In a press conference Wednesday, NDP Education Critic Chandra Pasma NDP Labour Critic, Jamie West announced that they are tabling a motion calling on the government to immediately implement an emergency plan to end school violence.

Pasma and West were also joined by leaders from six education unions in support of the motion.

The issue of safety for teachers and education workers has been brought up in the past with unions and opposition leaders calling on the Ford government to provide additional funding, directly related to dealing with violence.

The plan would include funding to hire additional qualified staff, including mental health professionals, education assistants, child and youth workers, and other education workers and comprehensive training for all workers and supervisors.

It also suggests creating a province-wide online reporting system for violent incidents and data collection to understand the full scope of the problem.

At the press conference, they said the lack of having those extra resources leads to frustration and lashing out from students to the point where those workers are wearing protective gear.

“Imagine being a parent entering a special needs school, and you see the staff in padded arms, gloves, a helmet and a jacket,” said Shauna Heath, a child and youth worker. “It’s for safety, for protection at a school.”

“I often must hide my gear so students can’t see it there because at times I have become the target of the violence and they’ll kick me more,” added Amie Boyak, an educational assistant.

Education Minister Jill Dunlop was questioned in the legislature about the motion and said the province, at this point, has provided $58 million in this year’s budget to combat problems with safety in schools and says it’s the school boards who have to do something with that money in order to combat it.