Ottawa-Carleton District School Board to remove police officers from schools

Ottawa's largest English public school board is taking steps to remove police officers from its schools, after a motion passed to end its Student Resource Officer (SRO) Program “immediately and completely”.

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board's (OCDSB) Committee of the Whole (CoW) passed a motion on Monday, June 14, calling for the program to end. The decision comes after months of debate and consultations which began last summer.

A motion was also passed requesting the board write to the City of Ottawa asking it to reallocate the funds used for the SRO program toward a mental health unit for youth.

OCDSB Human Rights and Equity Advisor Carolyn Tanner explains that there may still be situations where police are needed, but there must be accountability.

“The reason an accountability method is so important is that that is what we need to using to check discretion,” Tanner said during Monday's COW meeting.

The OCDSB's board of trustees will be making an official decision on the program on June 22, while a revised policy is expected in the fall.