Pursuant to a Ministerial Order: Provincial Standards for Codes of Conduct Order under British Columbia’s Loi sur l’école, school boards must establish codes of conduct that define what is unacceptable behaviour, including bullying and cyberbullying, while at school, at a school-related activity or in circumstances where engaging in the activity will have an impact on the school environment, and what the consequences of unacceptable behaviour will be.

Furthermore, the British Columbia Ministry of Education has a Safe and Caring School Communities policy which affirms all students’ right to an education free from discrimination, bullying, harassment, intimidation and other forms of violence.

Pour plus de détails concernant la législation relative au cyberharcèlement, notamment la législation fédérale, veuillez consulter : Consequences juridiques du cyberharcèlement

Legal Requirements for Private Schools in British Columbia

Similarly to public schools in British Columbia, independent schools must set clear expectations for acceptable behaviour and hold students accountable by enforcing bullying and violence prevention policies and codes of conduct.

Les éducateurs partagent la responsabilité avec les parents et les autres adultes de la vie des élèves pour favoriser le développement des compétences sociales et émotionnelles dont ils ont besoin pour entretenir des relations saines et leur enseigner que le harcèlement est inexcusable et inacceptable.

As an educator, you should expect the following:

Au niveau de la classe/de l’école :

• You have a right to expect that your school make the code of conduct, which includes an anti-bullying policy, available to the public and provide it to parents, students and all school staff at the beginning of the school year.
• You have a right to expect that your school review the code of conduct annually with representatives of the school staff, parents and students to assess the effectiveness of the code of conduct in addressing current school safety issues.
• You should expect all school personnel have had training about bullying prevention in accordance with their roles and responsibilities.
• You should expect that all students participate in developmentally appropriate educational experiences throughout their school careers, conveying the importance of respect in relationships, teaching that bullying in all its forms is wrong and unacceptable, and teaching social skills that build capacity for healthy relationships.
• You should expect that there is adequate supervision and monitoring of students.
• You should expect that all school personnel consistently identify and respond to incidents of bullying, and report incidents to the school principal or designate in accordance with school policy.
• You should expect that your school keeps records of bullying and their responses to them, and that these records are reviewed on a regular basis to identify and address ongoing concerns.

Au niveau des conseils scolaires :

• You have a right to expect that your school board has established a code of conduct that defines bully and cyberbullying, provides for the consequences of bullying and cyberbullying which takes into account the student’s age, maturity and special needs (if any), and that explains that the board will take all reasonable steps to prevent retaliation against a student who has made a complaint about bullying and/or cyberbullying.
• You have a right to expect that the code of conduct, wherever possible and appropriate, establishes consequences for bullying and cyberbullying that focus on restorative rather than punitive actions and includes an explanation that special consideration may apply to students with special needs.
• You should expect that your school board has a District Safe School Coordinator who is responsible for district-wide safety initiatives, including overall monitoring of the online reporting site.
• You should expect there are evidence based bullying prevention resources and training opportunities available.

Au niveau du ministère :

• The Ministry has a Safe and Caring School Communities policy which affirms all students’ right to an education free from discrimination, bullying, harassment, intimidation and other forms of violence.
• You should expect there is adequate funding for resources and staff training.

As an educator, these are your rights and responsibilities with respect to bullying prevention:

• You have the right to ask parents to take an active interest in their children’s academic and social progress.
• You have the right to communicate to parents/guardians that their children’s social skills, self-discipline, empathy, compassion and ethics are learned through life, and that both parents and educators play key roles in transmitting these skills and values to their children through instruction and by example.
• You have the right to expect that parents/guardians:

1. Encourage and assist their children to abide by the school’s code of conduct;
2. Model respect for diversity and for engaging in positive, non-violent conflict resolution; and
3. Refrain from inappropriate behaviours when interacting with school personnel.

• You have the responsibility to invite representatives of parents and students to participate in the development and support of your school’s safe school policy, code of conduct, and plan to create a positive learning and working environment.
• You have the responsibility to ask parents to communicate regularly with the school when there is a concern about bullying.

If an incident of bullying is disclosed to you or witnessed by you, these are the educator’s responsibilities.

Au niveau de la classe/de l’école :

• You are responsible for ensuring school principals or their delegates are told of the incident, so that they can investigate and address reports of bullying, including notifying parents/guardians in a timely fashion.
• Le personnel scolaire désigné est responsable de travailler avec les parents/tuteurs et le directeur pour élaborer et mettre en œuvre un plan de sécurité pour un élève victime de harcèlement, afin qu’il/elle puisse se sentir en sécurité à l’école et lors de son trajet entre la maison et l’école.
• Le personnel scolaire délégué est responsable de vérifier régulièrement (par exemple quotidiennement, tous les quelques jours, hebdomadairement, tous les deux semaines, mensuellement, etc.) que l’intimidation n’est pas en cours et que la situation est réglée.
• Le personnel scolaire délégué est responsable de surveiller régulièrement l’élève qui a commis la violence afin de s’assurer que cet élève n’exerce plus de comportement violent.
• You should expect there is a progressive discipline policy in place that guides the choice of just and effective responses to bullying. Progressive discipline means that initially students who bully receive consequences that help them learn from the experience and take responsibility for their actions, known as “formative consequences”. If bullying behaviour continues, consequences progress in severity. Consequences always take into account the unique characteristics of the situation which include:

1. the developmental level and age of the involved students;
2. l’historique antérieur des élèves concernés ;
3. exceptionalities of the involved students (including special needs);
4. la gravité de l'incident ; et
5. le préjudice causé à l’élève victime de harcèlement.
6. delegated school personnel are responsible to take reasonable steps to prevent retaliation against a student who has made a complaint of bullying.

Au niveau des conseils scolaires :

• Il faut s’attendre à ce qu’il existe une politique concernant le partage d’informations avec les parents/tuteurs tout en préservant la confidentialité de tous les élèves.
• Il faut s’attendre à ce qu’il existe des directives précisant la responsabilité du conseil scolaire d’intervenir en cas de harcèlement lorsqu’un problème persistant n’a pas été résolu avec succès au niveau de l’école.
• Vous devriez vous attendre à ce qu’il existe une politique concernant l’expulsion d’un élève de l’école si des comportements de harcèlement répétés compromettent un environnement d’apprentissage sûr.
• On devrait s’attendre à ce que la politique et le rôle du conseil scolaire en matière de prise de décisions concernant les suspensions, les expulsions et les expulsions soient clairement expliqués aux parents, tout comme les procédures de résolution des problèmes.

Au niveau du ministère :

• Il faut s’attendre à ce qu’il soit mis à disposition des ressources pour offrir les supports nécessaires aux élèves qui sont victimes de harcèlement, à ceux qui ont harcelé d’autres élèves et à ceux qui ont été témoins de ce phénomène.
• On devrait s’attendre à ce que le rôle du ministère dans la prise de décisions concernant les suspensions, les expulsions et les expulsions soit clairement expliqué aux parents, tout comme les procédures de résolution des problèmes.
• On devrait s’attendre à ce que des programmes de substitution soient mis en place pour les jeunes qui ont été retirés de leurs écoles communautaires, et que des plans soient élaborés pour leur réinsertion avec le soutien nécessaire, lorsque cela sera possible.

Et enfin,

Gardez à l’esprit que votre propre comportement doit être pris en considération, malgré les désaccords ou les hostilités que vous pourriez rencontrer. Les élèves observent attentivement ce que font les adultes de leur entourage et sont influencés autant par vos actions que par vos paroles. Lorsque les élèves voient que vous êtes respectueux et empathique envers les autres, même lorsque vous êtes en désaccord, ils sont plus susceptibles de faire de même.

Pour plus d'informations, veuillez consulter : https://www.prevnet.ca