The Ministry of Education announced changes to the Provincial Code of Conduct which must be implemented by all Ontario school boards as of September 1st, 2024. The changes are outlined in Policy/Program Memorandum (PPM) 128 and include anti-vaping rules, restrictions on personal mobile device use during instructional time, restricted social media access on school networks, and other changes.
Consultation Results
We held an online consultation on Engage OCDSB from May 10th to June 14th and invited families, students, staff, and community members to share their feedback. We also gathered feedback from trustees, system leaders, and committee members during the meetings where the policies were discussed. For a summary of what we heard, please see Report No. 24-086. We would like to thank all who participated in the consultation process for your feedback, which has been considered in the revisions of our policy and procedure documents.
Policy and Procedure Updates
As a result to what we heard and the new requirements, the following policies and procedures have been updated:
- Policy P.100.IT Appropriate Use of Information Technology
- Policy P.125.SCO School District Code of Conduct
- Procedure PR.522.SCO Smoking and Vaping on Board Premises
- Procedure PR.534.SCO Search and Seizure (Students)
- Procedure PR.622.IT Appropriate Use of Information Technology (Students)
- Procedure PR.702.IT Appropriate Use of Information Technology (Staff)
- Procedure PR.708.IT Social Media
Next Steps
As we head into the fall, we will be sharing reminders about the new rules, and schools will work to support students in applying the new code of conduct.
