Board states dress code blitz at Orléans high school unacceptable
Posted May 14, 2022 05:46:00 PM.
The director of education for the French Catholic school board sent a letter to families of an Orleans high school on May 14, saying a one day dress code blitz initiated by staff and teachers was unacceptable.
Marc Bertrand, the director of education of the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE) said in the letter the board conducted an investigation into the dress code crackdown on mostly female students by staff members and teachers at École Secondaire Catholique Béatrice-Desloges on May 12.
The one day dress code blitz sparked a student protest on Friday, May 13, and members of the Ottawa Police Service were called to the school to help staff deal with the situation.
Police said they attempted to de-escalate a situation with one youth who was not a student at the school and was identified as trespassing. That individual was arrested at the scene for causing a disturbance and trespassing and was escorted off school property. He was released without charges. No other charges were laid, and no tickets were issued during the protest.
“The events related to the dress code last Thursday disrupted the functioning of Béatrice-Desloges Catholic Secondary School this past Thursday and Friday,” the letter, originally in French, reads. “Students and staff should be able to come to school and feel respected.”
In the letter, Bertrand said the board administration is taking the situation that happened at the east end school seriously, and two CECCE staff members were sent to the school to speak with students and staff about the events that occurred.
“Some students were asked to bend their leg backwards at the knee as they were standing in order to check whether the shorts worn complied with the dress code,” said Bertrand in the letter. “At present no student had been asked to bend over.”
Bertrand stated he understands that many students felt humiliated by the dress code blitz, and the strategy taken by the school's staff and teachers is not encouraged by the CECCE.
“All students must be treated with dignity and respect,” he added. “No student should be subject to such a check. The strategy employed by the school unfortunately does not reflect the values which are very dear to the CECCE.”
In the letter, Bertrand issued an apology on behalf of the board's administration to parents and students.
“Follow ups are underway with all CECCE schools in order to ensure that such a situation does not happen again,” he said.
