New Bill “The Better School and Student Outcomes Act” alarms Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario

BY PAUL JUNOR

The news of a new draft Bill titled, “The Better School and Student Outcomes Act,” which was tabled by the Ontario Government on Monday, April 17^th, caught many education stakeholders off guard.

Bill 98 was introduced because the Ontario government believes that due to declining results in writing and math over the years, changes are required to ensure that it has: more power over school boards’ academic priorities and better training for senior leaders.

In addition, the government hopes to have more control over how excess surplus school properties are sold off. These new standards will focus on the job performance of new directors and the training they received by allowing trustees and the Ministry of Education to play a significant role. The government hopes that this will help to silence critics of the process.

The Toronto Star reported that Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce states, “It’s about expecting better from the system. The Board needs to refocus on what matters, which is student achievement.” He believes that this is a response to the concerns of parents who have been, “Very loud and clear on their priorities in the education system.” Parental priorities are key to this overhaul.

There is no doubt that many education stakeholders have raised on-going concerns over the years about the cutbacks in Ontario’s public education since the Conservatives were elected in 2018. This they believe led to chronic underfunding, which was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but now the government is continuing on its path of further cutbacks. They think a focus on school boards will distract attention from its role in the sale of school real estate.

Anne Kidder, Executive Director of  People for Education, spoke out, “This is a huge centralization of power in the Ministry of Education. It seems like a very comprehensive change to education policy in the province, done without any prior consultations.”

Consultations will be held during spring 2023, and the government hopes to get feedback from education stakeholders by mid-May.

Cathy Abraham, President of the Ontario Public School Board’s Association, had this to say,”Boards have always focused on education. That is what we do. From time to time, things happen in our society that leak their way into our school board meetings that we have to deal with, but our focus is always on education.”

John Fraser, interim Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party is critical of the legislation. He states that Bill 98, “Is not really addressing the problems in our schools.” He is further concerned about, “The government taking control of (surplus) property.”

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) released a statement on Monday, April 17^th, expressing its objections to Bill 81. The letter notes, “This is the second time in two days that ETFO has been caught off guard by the Ministry of Education announcements, demonstrating a clear lack of consideration and respect for education stakeholders.”

ETFO is unhappy that the Ontario government did not consult with, or other education stakeholders for input and is rushing to get feedback by the middle of May. They do not trust that the government is sincere in its call for meaningful feedback given that there are only a few weeks allotted for feedback.

ETFO has advocated consistently over the years for equitable and fair funding of public education to avert a future crisis. It states, “Instead of working in partnership to improve our world-renowned education system, the Ford government is focused on creating a crisis in public education, where none exists.”

ETFO poses two important questions:

• Why is an overhaul necessary?
• What is their agenda?

ETFO hopes that the Ontario government answers these questions.