The Link to Prevent Parental Conflict (www.odstep.ca) tool is a free online search tool that you can use to find educational investigations by your child’s school.
The tool matches every case with every school in the province, allowing you to find out whether your child’s school has had an investigation or is currently conducting one.
There are 2,500 schools in Ontario, of which 225 are in Toronto. The total number of disciplinary action in Ontario is around 110,000, or an average of one case every minute of every day of every week.
Of these 110,000 cases, only 300 are referred to police. The rest go no further. A majority of the cases are resolved without children being expelled. Very rarely are children told they may be expelled. Children have been punished for behaviours like disruptive language, wearing jewellery without permission, or forgetting a trick they learnt at school. The vast majority of the cases have been resolved within the school environment.
Of the 5,500 schools in the province that have information about an investigation, most of these investigations are conducted by teachers. However, it is rare for anyone other than a teacher to be sent to the police.
Of the 300 referrals to police, only two of these are for children under the age of 11. Most referrals are of adults to police, who are to continue the investigation. The other 95% of referrals are to police.