Skipping school: consequences?

It was a warm Friday afternoon in June, and all of the students at St. Charles elementary school headed to the playground for their second recess of the day.

"Ah, it's so nice outside," exclaimed Tom, an eighth-grader at the school. He and his friend, David, were the first ones out the door.

"Too bad we're stuck at school." David responded. "It would be a perfect day to go to the Water Park at Sunny Side Bay."

Photo from Ontario Place website:  http://www.ontarioplace.com/waterpark 

 
Tom turned to David with an excited look on his face. "Hey, what if we just took the day off from school? We can go on all the water slides we want! What do you say?"

"Take the day off...you mean...skip school?" David asked.

"Yea, it would be amazing!" Tom responded. "We'd have an early start to the weekend. Besides, I don't think our teacher would even mind. It's the second last Friday before school ends. She knows that none of us really want to be here."

David looked uncertain. He was worried about the consequences of skipping school. After pausing for a few seconds, he finally spoke, "Okay, fine let's do it. I really hope we don't get in serious trouble for this."

"We won't," Tom remarked. "Everything will be just fine, trust me."

The two boys quickly hopped the fence that surrounded their school yard. They headed towards a bus stop at the end of the street.

What are the legal consequences for skipping school?

The Education Act is the Ontario law that covers education issues, including attendance.  It requires everyone over the age of six to attend school until they graduate or reach age 18.  This doesn’t just mean registering in school – it means actually going, every single day that school is in session!

What if you are sick? Or you have a religious holiday? Or your parents have decided to home school you?  Are you breaking the law?  The answer is no.  You can be excused from attendance at school for any of those reasons, and you are also excused from attendance at school if you are suspended or expelled.

But aside from exceptions like these, you are required to go to school every day.  If David and Tom don’t go to school, they are breaking the law in Ontario.  The school attendance counselor will contact their parents or guardians to let them know that David and Tom weren’t at school that day.  The Education Act makes it a parent or guardian’s responsibility to make sure that students go to school if the law requires it.  If a parent neglects or refuses to fulfill this responsibility, they can be fined up to $200.

David will probably not receive a very serious punishment for skipping school one time.  His parents will find out, and he might receive a consequence from them at home or feel that they trust him less.  His school will probably give him a consequence, too, like a detention.  However, if David skips school on a regular basis, the consequences will become more serious – he could even be charged with an offence under the Provincial Offences Act.

To learn more about mandatory school attendance, see sections 25, 26, 30, and 31 of the Education Act.

The scenario was written by JFCY PLE Team volunteer Stefan Venier. Legal info was written by Leora Jackson, a U of T law student and JFCY volunteer.  Reviewed by JFCY. 

School Fights: What can the consequences be?

Josh, 15, and Dave, 16, have never gotten along. No one knows exactly when their animosity towards one another began, but in Grade 11, everything got out of control. It started a couple months ago when Josh started dating Dave’s ex-girlfriend, Sam. Dave and his friends at school would taunt and tease Josh in the hallways and in the locker rooms where teachers weren’t around. Then, Dave spread rumours around the school that Josh had been cheating on Sam in order to get them to break up. Josh had had enough at that point, but he did not want to go to any teachers because he thought it would would just lead to more taunting and teasing by Dave and his friends. So, he decided to fight Dave. He figured if he won that fight, Dave and the other students would leave him alone. Dave agreed to fight and it was decided that the next day, Friday, at 4pm in the school parking lot, they would settle their dispute physically.

Fights on campus can lead to serious consequences at school.

By the time of the fight, the entire school had heard about it and a huge crowd had gathered to watch. Josh and Dave were at the centre of the crowd. In a split second, Dave punched Josh right in the face, leaving Josh on the pavement, bleeding. Moments after, the crowd began to flee. Teachers at the school saw the group of students outside and came out to see what was going on. The sight of teachers scared all the spectators away. Josh’s nose was bleeding, but the bleeding stopped quickly and he wasn’t hurt too badly. Both boys live with their parents, who were called to pick them up.

Dave and Josh’s fight happened on school property.  What kind of consequences could the boys face at school?

Some of the most serious consequences that a student can face for behaviour at school are suspensions and expulsions.  If a student is suspended, that means he or she can’t come to school for the time period of the suspension, which can be up to 20 days.  A suspension is also recorded in a student’s Ontario Student Record, so that even if someone transfers schools, the new school may know what happened.  Expulsions prevent students from attending school for at least four weeks, and it may mean that they cannot go to their own schools again afterwards.  In both suspensions and expulsions, students can’t participate in school-related activities, like sports team practices or clubs.

School Suspensions

Because Dave punched Josh in the face and bullied him before the fight, the principal will consider suspending Dave.  If Josh made threats to Dave before the fight about seriously hurting him, the principal may consider suspending Josh, too.  This is a situation where is a suspension is possible, but not required.  The law requires principals to suspend students in certain situations that happen at school or school-related activities; for example, when you physically hurt another person so that the other person needs medical attention.  Situations for mandatory suspensions are set out in Ontario’s Education Act, and school boards can also set guidelines for when suspensions are required in their board’s Code of Conduct.  Mandatory suspensions also have the potential to lead to an expulsion, so they can be very serious.

Mitigating Circumstances

When deciding whether to suspend Dave, the principal will have to consider “mitigating circumstances.”  These are reasons that the school might not suspend Dave even though he punched Josh and teased him.  Mitigating circumstances include issues like whether Dave was able to control his behaviour, whether he understood what would probably happen because of his behaviour, and whether his being at school would pose a risk to Josh’s or anyone else’s safety.  Other things can be considered too, like whether Dave has a disability or if he has had any problems at school in the past. 


Fairness

The school must act fairly towards Dave.  They must accommodate any disabilities he has, they must tell him what they are suspending him for, and they must give him a chance to tell his side of the story.  Since Dave is 16 and lives with his parents, they must also contact his parents to tell them about the suspension.  They must inform Dave and his parents of the suspension in writing, explaining why he is suspended and for how long, and telling him which suspended students program he has been assigned to (if he is suspended for more than 5 days).  They must also provide information about the right to appeal his suspension and who to contact with his appeal notice.  Once the suspension is over, Dave can begin to attend school again.

Appealing a Suspension

If Dave is suspended, he might feel that his punishment is unfair.  In this case, his parents can appeal the suspension by notifying the supervisory officer (usually a Superintendent) named in his suspension notice of their intent to appeal.  They must do this within ten school days of the start of the suspension.  A suspension appeal must then be held within 15 days after the supervisory officer receives the written notice.

Appeal Hearing

At the suspension appeal, school board trustees will listen to evidence from both Dave and the principal.  Dave and his parents have rights at the hearing.  These include being represented by a lawyer, calling witnesses, presenting Dave’s side of the story, cross-examining witnesses (this means asking questions of the witnesses called by the principal), and explaining mitigating circumstances.  The trustees will then decide whether to uphold, change, or end the suspension.  If the suspension is ended, Dave can go back to school immediately.  Even if the suspension ended before the appeal was held, this is still an important decision because it will be removed from Dave’s record if the board ends it at the appeal.

Although nobody was hurt badly in Dave and Josh's fight, a more serious fight might have led to an expulsion, or to criminal charges.  For more information, see JFCY’s pamphlets:

JFCY guide to suspension

JFCY guide to expulsion

JFCY youth guide to court

 Scenario written by JFCY volunteer and PLE team member Cemone Morlese.  Legal info by JFCY.

Your right to study!

Scenario by Diana Rozo, JFCY volunteer

Jose is a 10 year old boy. He was born in Mexico, brought up in a low-income family. His parents have been saving up for years working in labour intensive jobs in hopes that Jose will never have to suffer through the hardships that they encountered in their lives. Jose’s parents are hoping to move to Canada so that Jose will have a chance at a better education, and subsequently a better life. On his 10th birthday Jose and his parents flew out to Canada hoping for a brand new start. After settling into the neighbourhood and nearby surroundings, Jose and his parents decided that since it was nearing the start of school, they should visit their nearby school for registration. By the time his parents brought him to register for school they had just realized that their visitor’s visa had expired. His parents are not sure if the school will register their son and are quite worried. Jose is really disappointed to hear this news and remains eager to start school in Canada.

What are Jose’s rights?

Some legal issues explained by JFCY staff lawyers:

Right to Attend

All children who reside with a parent or guardian within a school board’s boundaries have the right to attend a school within the board, but not any specific school.

Payment of Fees

A child who is a “resident pupil” has a right to attend school without paying a fee. A “resident pupil” means that they are living in Ontario and not just visiting.

Canadian citizens and “permanent residents” do not have to pay a fee to attend a school in the district in which they live.

Students who are “visitors” to Canada will have to pay a fee in order to attend school. For example, if Johnny and his parents do not take steps to gain immigration status in Canada then they will likley have to pay a fee. 

However, non-citizen students will NOT be charged fees in certain circumstances. These are some, but not all of those circumstances: 

- The student, or their parents have claimed refugee protection in Canada and are awaiting the decision, or have had refugee protection conferred on him/her/them.
- The student has applied for “permanent resident” status and is awaiting a decision. 
- The student is living with parent (or someone who has lawful custody of them) who is a “permanent resident” or has applied for “permanent resident” status. 
- The student is living with parent (or someone who has lawful custody of them) who has a valid work permit or has applied and is awaiting the determination of a work permit application.

The above information on payment of fees can be found in the Ontario Education Act, at s. 49, available here

To learn more, check out this JFCY pamphlet: (“Do I have the right to attend school?”)

This area of law can be complicated.  For more information or to speak to a lawyer about your specific situation, you can call Justice for Children and Youth at 416.920.1633 (or 1.866.999.5329 for outside the GTA)

Other Issues for Students Without Legal Immigration Status

Section 49.1 of the Ontario Education Act says that a student should not be refused admission to school becasue they or their parents are unlawfully in Canada.

The Toronto District School Board has adopted a policy called, Access Without Fear: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell  for children without legal immigration status. This policy aims to protect the rights of children and their families by not asking for, reporting or sharing information about any student’s or a student’s family’s immigration status. For more on this policy, adopted on May 16, 2007, see page 2 of this document

Other school boards in Ontario may have different policies.

For more information on activism in this area, check out the No One Is Illegal blog here

LAWS: Law in Action Within Schools

Here is a link to an article about a fantastic organization - LAWS: Law in Action Within Schools.

LAWS matches law students at the University of Toronto with at-risk students in three city high schools. As the article states "LAWS is not meant to create a new generation of lawyers — although some students say their career choices have changed — but rather to spark student interest and inspire them to pursue higher education."

Read more about the article here. For more information, check out the LAWS website.

Leaving Home Part II: You've decided to Leave Home...Now What?

Leaving Home will be a series of blog posts providing information to youth who have questions about their rights and responsibilities about leaving home. These blog posts offer general information only. For particular issues specific to a personal situation, contact JFCY to speak to a lawyer.

Today's blog peice answers some questions about what happens after you have decided to leave home.
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What can I take when I leave home?
You have a right to take all of your personal property with you whether you bought it yourself or it was given to you as a gift. This includes all of your identification such as health cards, birth certificates, and passport. These documents are very important and you and should take them with you. If your parents are refusing to let you take your own property you can contact the police or a lawyer for help. Sometimes a family member or friend can help pick up your property for you.

Can I go to school if I am not living at home?
Yes. The law requires you to attend school until you are 18 years old or have graduated from high school. If you are 16 years old and have withdrawn from parental control then you can attend school in the school board district where you live and you will have all the same rights as an 18 year old. If you are 16 years or older, and living on your own, you do not need a legal guardian to register for school.

The school will need proof of your new address and you may have to show some proof that you have withdrawn from parental control. For example, they may ask how you are supporting yourself. You should call Justice for Children and Youth if the school is refusing to enroll you.

Can I get a job when I leave home?
Yes, you may work and keep your own wages. However, you are required to be in school if you are less than 18 years old and have not graduated from high school. There are laws that limit the places and times of day that you can work. For example, you cannot work during school hours. Minimum wages can differ, depending on where you work, and whether it is full-time or part-time or summer work.

For questions about your employment rights you can:

• call the Employment Standards Information Centre of the Ministry of Labour at 416-326-7160 or 1-800-531-5551, or
• visit their website at http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/

Can I rent my own apartment?
Yes. It is against the law for a landlord to refuse to rent an apartment to you because you are 16 or 17 years old. It is also against the law to refuse to rent to you because you are on social assistance provided by Ontario Works (OW). If you are on OW, your worker will have the right to approve where you live. To find out more about your rights and responsibilities as a tenant, contact:

• your local community legal clinic,
• the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario at 1-866-245-4182 (website: www.acto.ca), or
• Justice for Children and Youth.

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For more information on Leaving Home, consult our Legal Information Pamphlets section or click on the below link:

Leaving Home

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RESOURCES:

Kids Help Phone - http://www.kidshelpphone.ca/
416-973-4444 / 1-800-668-6868 (outside Toronto).
Children’s Aid Society - 416-987-7725 in Toronto
To locate your local CAS, visit the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Society’s website at www.oacas.org

FindHelp211:
Information about community, government, social and health issues
Dial “211” from inside the Toronto area, or visit http://www.211toronto.ca/
Outside GTA, check the local Blue Book or visit http://www.211ontario.ca/
TO CONSULT A LAWYER:

Justice for Children and Youth:

415 Yonge Street, Suite 1203
GTA (416) 920 - 1633
http://www.jfcy.org/

Legal Aid Ontario – www.lao.on.ca
416-598-0200 / 1-800-668-8258

Lawyer Referral Service – 416-947-3330 / 1-800-268-8326
Referrals to lawyers; 30 min free advice.

BACK TO SCHOOL!!!!

JFCY wishes all Ontario students a happy first day of school.

Here are some quick legal facts about school in Ontario:

1) You are eligible to attend public school starting at age 4
2) You MUST attend school from ages 6-18, or until you graduate high school (unless you have a valid legal excuse)
3) If you skips school regularly, you could be charged with truancy
4) You have the right to attend school even if you are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. However, in some situations your parents may have to pay a fee.
5) You have a right to see your Ontario Student Record at any age
6) If you are legally required to attend school and you are working at a job (other than co-op) during school hours, your employer could be fined.

For more information, or to talk about your specific situation, please call JFCY at 416.920.1633 or 1.866.999.5329.

EXPULSIONS

Your school Code of Conduct and the Education Act tell what conduct (for example selling drugs, assault, or having a weapon) can result in an expulsion. Expulsions are recorded in your Ontario Student Record – if you change schools, they will know what happened.

Who decides? What can happen? The principal will suspend you while investigating and must make a report with recommendations. The school board makes the decision after a hearing. It can decide not to expel or to expel from one school or all its schools. If you are expelled from all it's schools, you cannot return to school until you have successfully completed a program for expelled students.
If you broke the rules, do they have to expel you? No, your principal has to consider many factors before deciding to ask for an expulsion hearing, such as whether you have a disability, your history at the school, and whether your staying at school would create a risk for others.
What if the expulsion is unfair? You (or your parents if you are under 18) can appeal to the Child and Family Services Review Board, but you must act quickly. You should get a lawyer as soon as possible. If you believe your expulsion is discriminatory, you can make an application to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
JFCY: 416-920-1633 or 1-866-999-5629 / www.jfcy.org

SUSPENSIONS

Your school's Code of Conduct and the Education Act tell you what conduct can result in a suspension. Suspensions are recorded in your Ontario Student Record – if you change schools they will know what happened.
How long can I be suspended for? · Suspensions can last from up to 20 school days. If it is more than 5 days, you must be offered a program. If it is 5 days or less, the school must give you a homework package.
Do I have to be suspended if I broke the rules? No, your principal or school board must consider many things before deciding, including: · whether your behaviour was the result of a disability · your age · whether your behaviour was because you were harassed
What if my suspension is unfair? · You can ask for a review or appeal your suspension. You (or your parents if you are under 18) must do this quickly. · You should contact a lawyer as soon as possible (if you cannot afford a lawyer or your parents refuse to help, call one of the numbers below). · If your suspension is over by the time the review or appeal is done and they say that you should not have been suspended, if will be removed from your Ontario Student Record. · If you believe your suspension is discriminatory, you can make an application to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

JFCY: 416-920-1633 or 1-866-999-5629 / www.jfcy.org