OBA EDUCATION LAW PROGRAM | Original Program Date: February 8, 2017

All students have a right to an education, including students with disabilities whose behaviour poses a risk-of-injury to others. At the same time, school staff, including teachers and educational assistants, have a right to a safe workplace. How should school boards balance these rights when they are in conflict? What are their duties and obligations under the Education Act, Human Rights Code, and Occupational Health and Safety Act? Join our expert panel to explore this challenging topic, including:

• How often are these rights in conflict? The reported data (WSIB, Ministry of Education, etc. reports) vs. anecdotal reports
• What is the statutory and policy framework for school board violence/management of risk-of-behaviour policies? What, if any, barriers are there to applying these policies? Examples of best practices?
• The role of suspensions, expulsions and exclusions in dealing with this behaviour
• The right to refuse unsafe work: Can a teacher refuse work in light of safety concerns?
• Balancing student privacy with the duty to provide information to workers under s. 32.0.5 of OHSA

PROGRAM CHAIRS

Brenda Stokes Verworn, District School Board of Niagara

AGENDA

To view the full program agenda, please click here.