GUELPH – Does policing in schools make students safer?
According to Andrea Vásquez Jiménez, data paints a clear picture that the answer to this question is no.
“When it comes to the systemic issue of policing in schools,” Vásquez Jiménez said, “policing does not make educational spaces safer.”
Instead, she said research shows policing is detrimental to students’ outcomes, achievements and wellbeing.
Parents, teachers and community members gathered in Guelph on Sept. 27 to discuss the impact of policing in schools. The event, called Keeping our Kids Safe: Education without Policing, was organized by the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) Black Parents Council.
Rockwood parent Nia James is among the founders of the council and said people brought different perspectives to the event, and were there to have open dialogue and share.
Everyone is worried about the same thing, James said: violence in schools.
Reducing violence, Vásquez Jiménez says, requires addressing root causes and providing adequate funding, support and resources. She said root causes include social and structural determinants of health and equity.
James said about 40 people signed up to attend the event and a few more than that showed up.
The group heard from three speakers: Policing Free Schools (Canada) director Vásquez Jiménez; Black feminist writer, scholar and professor Robyn Maynard; and a representative from the Black Parents Council.
Vásquez Jiménez is in the midst of a provincial campaign for policing-free schools, which has taken on new urgency in light of Bill 33.
The bill, coined the Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, amends acts related to youth services and education and requires school boards to partner with police to implement School Resource Officer (SRO) programs and provide police access to schools.
The bill encompasses many issues, but overall it’s a power-grab that will make it easier for the province to take over school boards and move towards privatization, Vásquez Jiménez said.
It’s connected to Minister of Education Paul Calandra’s talk of eliminating democratically elected trustees, she noted.
During the event, Vásquez Jiménez told attendees how to get involved, highlighting calls to action at policingfreeschools.ca (under the Ontario Take Action tab) or connecting to the group directly by emailing connect@policingfreeschools.ca.
Policing-Free Schools (Canada) director Andrea Vásques Jiménez spoke during an event organized by the Upper Grand District School Board Black Parents Council in Guelph on Sept. 22.
Policing Free Schools was set to hold a press conference in Guelph on Oct. 2, in partnership with the UGDSB Black Parent Council, to express its opposition to Bill 33 and police in schools and to call for increased school funding instead.
James said many people approached her after the session to ask how they could support the Black Parent Council and its efforts.
The group formed last year in response to incidents of anti-Black racism in the UGDSB that members say were not adequately addressed.
A primary goal for the group is providing education, as well uplifting Black joy, James said. It plans to host more events that embrace these goals.
For information email ugdsbblackparentcouncil@gmail.com or follow on Instagram @ugdsbblackparents.
