The Province of Ontario recently announced a new, three-year initiative that aims to identify and address systemic barriers in the school system that work against underprivileged populations.
“Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan is a powerful blueprint that will strengthen our publicly funded education system by ensuring that all of Ontario’s students will have every opportunity to thrive and fulfill their potential, regardless of their personal circumstances,” says Ontario Minister of Education Mitzie Hunter.
This plan is set to cost the province $7 million in the 2017-2018 year. With that investment, the government intends to: collect data about student barriers, such as the ethnicity of students who are most likely to be suspended; reduce stigmas associated with different post-secondary paths; ensure school staff and leaders are as diverse as the students whom they serve; and implement human rights perspectives in the classroom and decision-making processes.
These steps aim to address unintentional consequences of systemic programs and practices that may disadvantage certain student populations including racialized students, students experiencing poverty, Indigenous students, newcomers to Canada, LGBTQ students, children and youth in care, students with disabilities, among others.
News of this initiative comes at the same time that the province announced their plans to do a comprehensive review of how students are tested, triggered in part by Ontario students’ poor math results for the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) standardized testing.
The combination of these initiatives will hopefully lead to an improved education system for all Ontario students.