Province calls for safety plans regarding controlled access in schools

The province has called on school divisions to submit safety plans regarding controlled access in its schools after a child was assaulted by a registered sex offender in a Winnipeg area school last month.

Minister of Education and Childhood Learning Tracy Schmidt announced last week that the government has allocated $500,000 for divisional training by the Manitoba School Boards Association. It has also asked the association to develop a provincewide online school safety training module for staff. The training will cover controlled access, risk identification, emergency response, and related safety protocols.

“As a parent, I know nothing matters more than your child’s safety,” stated Schmidt in a press release. “Families deserve certainty every single day. That’s why we are acting quickly and working closely with school divisions to re-enforce controlled access measures, so every child in Manitoba is supported and protected.”

Hanover School Division has already submitted a response to preliminary questions from the province.

Superintendent Joe Thiessen stated in a press release that “the division has well-established safety and emergency preparedness plans that are regularly reviewed, and this foundation will be strengthened through updated controlled access measures, which will be reported back to the province. As this is a new provincial initiative, we look forward to receiving further details from the province as this work moves ahead.”

Divisions are required to submit their plans by Dec. 25.

On Nov. 27, a 12-year-old girl was assaulted in Darwin School after sex offender Scott William George, 28, entered and hid in a stall in the girl’s bathroom. Scott grabbed the girl when she came out of her stall, but she managed to get away and told a teacher what had happened. George was arrested and charged with assault, forcible confinement, and two counts of failing to comply with a prohibition regarding children.

The updated plans will build on existing requirements under the Public Schools Act, which directs divisions to assess visitor access controls, emergency response protocols, communication procedures and physical security measures.

Schmidt said in a press conference that existing security measures vary across the province, according to the Winnipeg Free Press, with some schools posting a supervisor or locking all doors except a main entrance that is near an office. Some schools lock all their doors or use video camera-equipped intercom systems to monitor visitors at main doors. She is seeking a more universal approach.

She said Darwin School had a locked-door system, but it didn’t work.

The policy regarding emergency preparedness for HSD places the onus on creating plans, procedures, and policies on principals and school committees for each school and not on the division.

“The safety of our students and school communities is the number one priority for school boards, and we appreciate the opportunity to partner with the Manitoba government on comprehensive enhancements to school safety measures across the province,” stated Alan Campbell, president of MSBA, in a press release. “Local school boards and our senior administration teams are best positioned to ensure enhanced school safety measures and investment from the Manitoba government have the most meaningful impact in schools.”

There are 37 school divisions and 690 public schools in the province.

The Manitoba government will also fund the MSBA to convene a provincial school safety forum, bringing together education leaders, law enforcement, child welfare partners and community experts to collaborate on system-wide safety improvements.

Bill 19

The province has also asked school divisions to implement amendments made to the Public Schools Act (Safe Schools) with Bill 19, which instructs school divisions to make policies regarding acceptable interactions between teachers and students. The plan must be made public, accessible, and every four years principals must ensure that every staff member and every school volunteer completes a sexual abuse prevention program that is approved by the minister; the same goes for coaches and school sport volunteers.

The minister may make regulations respecting the appropriate and inappropriate interactions policy, including regulations respecting procedures for record keeping and information sharing, according to the act.

HSD board chair Dallas Wiebe said the division has been working on the new policy, but that there were already policies in place at the division that “broadly address” this issue. The Carillon looked at the Safe Schools Policy for the division, which reads in part, “Discrimination, bullying or abusing others physically, sexually, or psychologically– orally, in writing, electronically or otherwise– any person, is unacceptable and not tolerated.” The division’s code of conduct outlines the behaviours of staff and students and procedures to be followed should something occur.

“We’ll go through the requirements (of Bill-19), with the intent of making a policy out of it for January’s meeting,” said Jeff Friesen, chair of the governance committee.