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HB NEWS HDSB DRAFT PROFESSIONALISM POLICY LEAVES PARENTS FRUSTRATED ‘SCOPE OF THIS POLICY IS LEFT T0 ANYBODY'S INTERPRETATION,’ SAYS TRUSTEE KATHY YANCHUS kyanchus@metroland.com In the end, when the convoluted discussion at a meeting of the Halton Dis- trict School Board (HDSB) was over, nothing had inged. Despite "an impressive inventory" of policies and procedures at the HDSB's disposal, there will be no immediate implementa- tion of a professionalism icy. Since September, the highly sexualized class- room attire of a teacher at Oakville Trafalgar School has led to protests, mb threats, internation- al Fidicule, and 2 standott tween parent dents who attend the bev. on Re Road school and the "rolowing the (March a eeting and the int tion ofa draft oe feeclenak ism policy as requested by trustees, parents were again left perplexed and frustrated as senior staff spoke of its inability to al- ter working conditions In previous statements, HDSB director ot educa tion Curtis Ennis spoken of the Dendy Sate sive working environment and human rights issues pe barriers to such a Poy scintendent of hu- man resources Sari Taha mentioned legalities, ex- pectations, standards of practices, policies and pro- cedures that come from the Ontario College of Teach- tons of our sae staff, every sit- its own aes its ow own adjudica- tion, which is why the work sional standards of an em- loyer. “The community is im- ploring you, the trustees, to whichis why our procedures have Both the OCT and the Ministry of Education have publicly affirmed school boards already have the necessary authority to en- stan- Parents were not impressed with responses from senior board staff, including director of education Curtis ba as raft force dards, said arent ¢ delegate Lynn Petrus skavic “There be: created. This isnotapol- i ion issue. policy was discussed at March 1 board meeting. ers (OCT), the Education Act, current HDSB policies and p ocedures, even case et despite this “im- pressive inventory," not ev- ery situation is clear cut said Taha. "We have high expecta- The only problem here is policy interpretation and enforcement for all staff," she said. Petruskavich also dis- agreed with the idea that professionalism may some- how infringe upon human rights, saying an individu- al's code- -protected rights can still respect "boundar- ies that uphold the profes- old our count and enforce ba standing policies and prac- tices that centre student well-being and parental rights,” said Petruskavich. Taha the draft pol- icy isa composite of exist- ing policies and proce- dures. “It is a new policy in the sense it's a new document that doesn't speak to the out- come." principle, which is clearly articulated in the docu- ment, said Taha. "The up dragging our feet,” contin: ued Ahmed. emyeo | & aid he could not 8 8 Taha s: comment now on whe! the policy would resent problems of enforcement. Did the board anticipate any new procedures ema- nating froma new policy to its content is not new," read Taha. Milton trustee Naveed said the document ote | "no clear expecta- fons, Uke what we are try- a scope ‘of this policy is left to anybody's inter- pretation. The scope is completely open. Anybody ret this is any way. It's not very specific. It's not precise and it impose staff that are not alten ia existence? asked O: trustee Carole Baxter "This is going to be new in terms os specificity. We don't have anything that currently exists for statis ‘so it will be new," said E: Trustees need to "have the confidence to create a policy to address inappro- priate behaviour, said Bur- lington trustee Xin Yi Zhang. Turn to the experts *TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY 7100 IN REBATES* HEATING & COOLING ‘www.aireonewest.ca 905-849-4998 ! Watson Investments “Our clients enjoy talking about their retirement dreams and we enjoy helping them get there.” Accepting new clients. Please visit it com Peter & Jennifer to book a free consultation. Offering safe virtual meetings and e-signatures for new client onboarding. info@watsoninvestments.com ®& (905) 842 -2100 Jennifer Watson MBA, CFP®, CIM® Founded in 1997 Peter Watson MBA, CFP®, R.F.P., CIM®, FCS! i 3 3