September 19, 2024
Dear York Catholic District School Board families and staff,
Today, the York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB), the York Region District School Board (YRDSB), and the York Regional Police (YRP) announced an updated joint police protocol that will ensure a consistent approach to police involvement in York Region schools.
As a Catholic learning community, the YCDSB affirms that every individual is a cherished child of God, deserving of safety, dignity and respect in our schools.
The Ministry of Education requires school boards to have protocols that manage police involvement in schools and to regularly review those protocols. Today, the YCDSB, YRDSB and YRP agreed to an updated joint police protocol that promotes trauma-informed, anti-oppressive and anti-racist approaches to community safety.
Because of this updated joint police protocol, the YCDSB, YRDSB, and YRP will jointly train staff to establish a shared understanding of each organization’s responsibility in community safety. This training will prioritize upholding the rights and safety of all community members.
Moving forward, we will begin consultations with community groups on allowing police officers to provide students with fact-based and age-appropriate presentations on safety topics. At York Catholic, we will go through a process of engaging our communities on these presentations and sincerely reflecting on their feedback. Only through listening can we create trust, and I assure our community members that the York Catholic District School Board is committed to listening. We will provide YCDSB students and families with more information on these presentations before we are ready to take our next step.
We at the York Catholic District School Board are happy to sign this updated joint police protocol because this is an important step towards creating safe and welcoming schools for everyone in York Region.
Yours in Catholic Education,
John De Faveri
Interim Director of Education
York Catholic District School Board