Although they recognize the importance of protecting students from violence, groups studying Bill 47 recommended Tuesday that it be modified in order to avoid certain slippages.
The legislative document, presented on December 6 by the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, would notably require school service centers (CSS) and private establishments to adopt a code of ethics.
Employees would be required to report any “behavior that could reasonably cause fear for the physical or psychological safety of students” to the minister, who could trigger an investigation.
These reprehensible actions would remain on the offender’s file. They could not, under amnesty clauses, disappear after a few months or a few years, as is currently the case.
The minister’s initiative follows an investigation report into sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior in schools which demonstrated that they were poorly equipped to deal with these situations.
On Tuesday, the Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE) argued that the expression “behavior that could reasonably cause fear for the physical or psychological safety of students” was “far too broad”.
Its president, Mélanie Hubert, worried that we were “drowning the fish” by opening the door “to all kinds of situations”.
“For example, a teacher, who, on the schoolyard, while she is monitoring, from a distance, someone would see her trying to pull a student by the sleeve or the hood of the coat, we would hear screams.
“Obviously, all of these things can be reprehensible behavior. […] We could say: “This makes me fear for the safety of the students” […] and there, […] it remains in the file, this information is communicated,” she illustrated.
According to Ms. Hubert, it is not necessarily this type of behavior “that we want to target first and foremost.”
On the contrary, it is important to cast a wide net, replied Bernard Drainville. “It is reasonable, Ms. Hubert, to say: ‘We are going to protect our students against any behavior that poses a security risk,’” he declared.
Furthermore, the FAE criticizes the idea of having to report a situation directly to the minister. “For us, this centralization of all kinds of situations towards the minister is perhaps not what is desirable in our network.”
Mr. Drainville defended his measure, saying that situations were sometimes the subject of press articles.
“If the situation is serious, seems credible, I must be able to ask someone to verify the facts or possibly trigger an investigative committee to be able, ultimately, if the evidence is founded, to suspend or revoke the patent (of teacher),” he said.
An employee who denounces a situation to the minister must be protected, earlier argued the president of the Montreal Association of School Directors (AMDES), Kathleen Legault.
“There must be a mechanism that guarantees confidentiality and that people who report are protected against reprisals,” she said.
AMDES, the Quebec Association of School Management Personnel (AQPDE) and the Quebec Federation of Educational Institution Directors (FQDEE) demanded that Bill 47 also apply to adult students with disabilities.
Minister Drainville replied that it would probably be possible to make this modification. Special consultations on Bill 47 continue on Wednesday.