P.O. Box 2064, Suite 1804 20 Eglinton Avenue West Toronto, Ontario M4R 1K8 T. 416.932.9460 F. 416.932.9459 ocsta@ocsta.on.ca www.ocsta.on.ca Marino Gazzola,
President
Kathy Burtnik,
Vice President
Kevin Kobus,
Executive Director
1/2 June 5, 2012
TO:
Chairpersons & Directors of Education
FROM:
Kevin Kobus, Executive Director
RE: Bill 13
Bill 13, including recent amendments, was passed by the Legislature today. The Bill will receive Royal Assent promptly and will therefore become law. The objections that OCSTA has consistently articulated in recent months, including a full presentation before the Standing Committee on Social Policy, remain. However, now that the Bill has become law, we turn our focus to its implementation. OCSTA is providing a response to two questions. 1.
Will OCSTA initiate a legal challenge?
It is not the intent of OCSTA to initiate a legal challenge at this time.
2.
What should a principal of a Catholic secondary school do if a group of students wants to name the group “GSA”?
We are not advising principals to break the law. Where there is a contradiction between the language of the “Respecting Difference” document and the provisions of Bill 13 with respect to naming the support group, please note that the legislation takes precedence. This does not, however, remove the right of a principal to ensure the appropriateness of materials used in the school. The Respecting Difference Resource created for Catholic schools provides guidelines for ensuring that student-led groups to combat bullying reflect Catholic values and adhere to Ministry guidelines. I would point out that a group of students in a GSA may be a subset of a larger group such as a “Respecting Difference” or “Open Arms” group. As there are various names currently being used in Catholic schools, the deliberation will occur at the local level.
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Although the dispute over the name is now resolved, it is time to move forward. The general feeling is that students in a few schools may initiate the request soon to identify a group within the school as a “GSA”. From the outset, the concern has been about the content more so than the name and the name should be accepted by the principal, if requested by the students. The focus has to be on the well-being of the students For your reference, attached are suggested key messaging points to support Boards in answering questions on this issue from their local media.
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