US EditionOntario Legislation Could Put Police Back in Schools in Ottawa and Across Ontario
- On May 29, 2025, Ontario proposed a law that would mandate school boards to introduce School Resource Officer initiatives in the upcoming school year wherever local police services provide such programs.
- The government aims to improve youth-police relationships, promote positive behaviour, and increase accountability, despite opposition from teachers' unions citing past harms to racialized students.
- The SRO program was previously removed in some boards after complaints of disproportionate police surveillance targeting Black, Indigenous, and racialized students, while some boards never ended the program.
- A police association leader said the program fosters trust and safety, while unions describe the government’s move as an authoritarian "power grab" that ignores underfunding and community concerns.
- If enacted, the legislation could reinstate police presence in many schools, raising debate over equity, school board autonomy, and addressing increased youth violence and crime.
11 Articles
11 Articles
St Catharines Standard
Should police officers be in Ontario schools? Province wants to revive controversial program with new legislation but not everyone agrees
Should police officers be in Ontario schools? Province wants to return cops to classrooms with new legislation but not everyone agrees. Share your thoughts.
Calandra is right: it’s time to get cops back in schools, if for no other reason, to protect our kids
Education Minister Paul Calandra has introduced a wide -ranging bill that he says is aimed at improving accountability in the school system. One of the measures would require school boards to implement School Resource Officer (SRO) programs where they are offered by local police services starting in the next school year. Hamilton Wentworth District School Board had a Police SRO program in place until 2020 when, in the wake of the George Floyd mu…
Will police be returning to patrol Ontario schools where they are not wanted?
New legislation could allow a police presence at all Ontario schools, even those where they have been told they are not welcome. As part of sweeping changes to the province’s educational system, the Ontario government said it will order school boards to implement the School Resource Officer (SRO) program in areas where the service is offered by police departments. The move comes several years after some school boards scrapped a similar program a…
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