The Act to prevent and stop bullying and violence in schools specifies the duties and responsibilities of the relevant school stakeholders and their partners. It also stipulates that school boards must see to it that each of their schools provides a healthy and secure learning environment that allows every student to develop his or her full potential, free from any form of bullying or violence.
The Act to prevent and stop bullying and violence in schools, makes it possible to achieve the following objectives:
- to define what constitutes bullying and violence in schools
- to define the responsibilities and duties of school stakeholders; this is now regarded as a collective and shared responsibility
- to call to account a student who has committed an act of bullying, and that student’s parents
- to require that every school adopt and implement an anti-bullying and anti-violence plan
- to require that every school principal set up an anti-bullying and anti-violence team and designate a school staff member to coordinate its work
- to require that every school board enter into an agreement with:
- each authority responsible for a police force in its territory, to determine how the officers of that police force will intervene in an emergency or when an act of bullying or violence is reported to them
- an institution or another body in the health and social services network for the provision of services to students after an act of bullying or violence is reported; the school board may also enter into an agreement with a community organization
- to require each school board to state, in its annual report, the nature of the complaints reported to the director general by the principal, the corrective measures taken and the proportion of these measures for which a complaint was filed with the student ombudsman
In addition, the anti-bullying and anti-violence plan approved by the school’s governing board must, among other things:
- include prevention measures to put an end to all forms of bullying and violence based, among other things, on racism, sexual orientation, sexual identity, homophobia, a disability or a physical characteristic, as well as prevention measures to encourage the collaboration of parents in putting an end to bullying and violence and in creating a healthy and secure environment
- establish procedures for reporting or registering a complaint concerning an act of bullying or violence, or for reporting the use of social media or communication technologies for cyberbullying purposes
- specify the actions to be taken when an act of bullying or violence is observed
- define the supervisory or support measures to be provided to any student who is a victim of bullying or violence, as well as supervisory or support measures for the perpetrator or anyone witnessing an act of bullying or violence
- determine specific disciplinary sanctions for acts of bullying or violence depending on the seriousness and frequency of these acts
- specify the required follow-up on any report or complaint concerning an act of bullying or violence
For the 2023-2024 ABAV Plan, click HERE
For the LJA ABAV End-of-Year Report 2024, click HERE