PEEL DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD Item 15.2
Board Meeting June 14, 2023
Motion
Submitted by: Jill Promoli
Moved by: Jill Promoli
Seconded by: Lucas Alves
Whereas Peel district School Board (PDSB) has established a four-year comprehensive Equity
Strategy which is a roadmap to close gaps in achievement and well-being experienced by
students who have been historically and currently underserved;
And whereas, PDSB’s Employment Systems Review recognizes that ‘some people who identify
as 2SLGBTQ+ report having to remain “in the closet” to maintain positive relationships with
their managers and colleagues, protect their jobs, and protect their opportunities for
advancement’;
And whereas, the results of PDSB’s review and census suggest self-identification rates that are
inconsistently low compared with self-identification rates shared by other school boards;
And whereas, PDSB is setting the bar high and making great strides towards improving equity
and addressing the education and safety needs of students with strategies and plans aimed
towards Anti-Black Racism, Islamophobia, and the underserved needs of Indigenous Peoples;
And whereas, the Ontario Human Rights Code recognizes there are 17 protected grounds that
require action and attention to protect against discrimination, and that these 17 protected
grounds may sometimes or often be intersectional or competing but not superseding over each
other;
And whereas, schools throughout PDSB have reported increased challenges during this school
year relating to Pride month, Pink Shirt Day and Day of Pink, and the teaching of the health
curriculum;
And whereas, we have received increased reports of widespread planned absences, requests
for exemptions regarding human rights education, and an increase in reports of verbal,
emotional, and physical abuse;
Therefore be it resolved, that staff return to the Board of Trustees at the September 2023
Board meeting with an information report including a staff action plan focusing on the
2SLGBTQ+ community to improve the response of the board to better provide a safe and
welcoming school environment where every student, staff member, and family knows they
belong;
And further, that the report should include comparisons in the proposed response to other
District School Board responses and outline progress that has been made, together with
challenges being faced;
And further, that the report should include comprehensive information on the prevalence and
impact of incidents and the effectiveness of the measures currently in place and proposed.