Delegation against OCDSB Motion for Police-School Involvement

With the OCDSB's Board of Trustees meeting today including the motion to involve the Director of Education with the Ottawa Police Services, the RSU finds it vital to address the motion, and make clear to Board and Student Trustees the extreme deficiencies and detriments of this proposal.

The Rideau Students' Union is submitting a delegation to the Board, which will be presented today at the meeting, which is also available below;

​OCDSB Board Trustees and Student Trustees,

On May 10th, 2022, an OCDSB Board meeting will be held, where a motion will be presented, calling for the Ottawa Police Service and Director of Education to affiliate and institute a partnership, whose interests do not fundamentally align with those involving the safety and wellbeing of students and school staff, and whose interests do not align with those relevant to the concerns of parents and guardians of OCDSB students.

We, the Rideau Students’ Union, a student-run advocacy group based in Ottawa, and representing the best upstanding interests of Ottawa students and citizens, call for the discard of this motion, as it promotes and encourages an environment in which students are adversely kept feeling unsafe, and is to the detriment of students’ mental health, sense of security, and Ottawa schools’ priorities lying in the value of our youth and future.

At its core, the board’s proposal, however not in addressal of strict and specific instances, gives way for and incites anxiety in students, as it acts as a disserviced stepping-stone, to police presence in schools and educational environments, in which the attendance of police services intimidates students, and does not fit with the intended environment, in which school act as a place for students to learn, grow, and communicate, while remaining at ease, without fear or otherwise, as opposed to an environment in which youth may be criminalized.

In addition, the context in which this motion lies, as well as the context of each of its clauses, shows a fundamental underlying focus, on placing importance on the protection and maintenance of board assets above the general wellbeing of students.

With interactions between law-enforcement and educational institutions, there is a prevention of sense of security and focus on studies for students, as well as festering strong and persistent worry from parents, guardians, staff, and mentors.

This plays an especially large role in communities in which marginalized groups and minorities are prevalent, or where many students come from low-income families and neighbourhoods, where a proven stigma on racism, ableism, and discrimination exists.

This stress which is invoked in students leads to their unwillingness and uncomfortability with seeking help through school resources designed to address student issues.

It would be the opinion of the Rideau Students’ Union on behalf of OCDSB students, that the board’s funding, would be spent best in other areas, which solve the issues intended to be addressed by this proposal, in a more humane and sensitive manner, by alleviating the fundamental rooting problems which affect Ottawa students; placing funding in mental health resources which will be to the benefit of students in providing peace of mind, funding training for school staff and teachers to address the concerns of students as is relevant, and funding other general student supports and resources to help students and act as preventative measures for the board's concerns.