Efforts to address racial equity in schools underway
Posted Mar 4, 2022 02:30:00 PM.
Building on the momentum of recent headline-making incidents, efforts to address racial equity in school systems are underway.
At the provincial level, there was near total support at Queen's Park Thursday for Bill 67, called the Racial Equity in Education Systems Act.
The one vote against the bill was Cambridge MPP Belinda Karahalios.
Bill 67 was introduced by Kitchener Centre MPP Laura Mae Lindo and would formally define terms like 'racism' and 'racial equity'; put penalties in place for racist behaviour; offer resources for students and staff who see or experience racism; and set up protocols for tracking and investigating racism.
This bill comes after Lindo, the NDP's anti-racism critic heard many stories of racism in the education system.
There's been recent attention on a police call made on a four-year-old Black student by a Kitchener Catholic school.
According to community advocates, the police call was the culmination of incidents where the boy was treated unfairly.
A provincial review of the matter continues.
Last fall, a Waterloo teacher allegedly taped two students to a desk at a local public school.
The young students were Black and Pakistani.
There is still a committee review and third reading before final approval of Bill 67.
In the meantime, a series of listening forums continues at Waterloo Region District School Board.
The first happened Thursday night with a focus on the Indigenous community and anti-Indigenous racism.
It was facilitated by local Indigenous Community Educator Clarence Cachagee and WRDSB Human Rights and Equity Advisor Deepa Ahluwalia.
“Listening forums are an opportunity for us at the school board to hear from our parent and caregiver community about the experiences that they have had, to acknowledge those experiences, and to hopefully find ways of moving forward together, understanding that we don't know anything we need to know,” said Ahluwalia.
Upcoming sessions include: anti-Black racism, racism involving racialized people/people of colour, Islamophobia, Ablelism, anti-Asian racism, anti-Semitism, and Heterosexism/Homophobia, Cissexism/Transphobia.
“Parents and caregivers can register for any of the sessions that they identify with or that their children identify with,” said Ahluwalia.
The sessions were developed based on community concerns and complaints.
They will be kept informal and confidentiality will be maintained.
A schedule and more information can be found here.
I refuse to make the story about a lone dissenter.
This is a COMMUNITY WIN!!
Those fighting for anti-racist schools & campuses made this possible. And for them, I am so grateful!!
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