New provincial legislation has been proposed that would protect students from disruptive behaviour on school grounds, including protests.
To some, that may seem unnecessary. Because who would intentionally go to a school to disrupt learning?
A press release from the NDP government said the legislation is indeed necessary due to “aggressive protests” that have taken place on school grounds.
While protesting is a right that this country holds near and dear to our collective hearts, the safety of children has been deemed rightfully more important.
When aggressive protests happen on school grounds, it can cause students and staff to feel unsafe, physically and mentally. The intimidation and harassment that can come from aggressive protests ends up in the laps of children, instead of the decision makers who protesters are meaning to address.
So, if enacted, the new law will allow police to issue tickets to or arrest anyone found impeding access, disrupting educational activities or attempting to intimidate an individual within 20 metres (66 feet) of school grounds.
The proposed bit of legislation is supported by the BC School Trustees Association, the Attorney General and the Minister of Education and Child Care.
It’s also just one move that this government has made to try to protect students’ health and safety. They’ve also had to take action to protect children from online harassment, to hold social media companies accountable for harm they’ve caused, and launching services to remove images from the internet as well as pursuing predators.
When added up, these changes help illustrate the harm that adults are placing in front of children. And as hard as it is to fathom that they are needed, they are welcome changes for a changing world.
— Black Press