Policing-Free Schools
OVERVIEW
This is the 2nd of 5 modules for our short series on Policing-Free Schools, featuring Vázquez Jiménez from Policing-Free Schools Canada.
This video will cover:
What police-in-schools programs are
How these programs are often named/referred to
How these programs are funded
Who has the power to make decisions about police presence in schools
Understanding this is important for students and families because it helps clarify how decisions about policing in schools are made, where public funds are going, and what options exist for creating safer, more supportive learning environments.
It also highlights how youth and community voices can play a role in shaping education systems that better support all students.
You can find the transcription for this video here (including visual descriptions for the video).
Refer to our glossary if you’re having trouble understanding any of the terms in this series.
What are police-in-school programs called?
Police-in-school programs in Ontario exist under a wide range of names, with the most commonly recognized being the School Resource Officer (SRO) program. While all SRO programs are forms of police-in-school programs, not all programs use this title.
Across different school boards, these initiatives may also be referred to as:
Police Liaison Officer programs,
School Liaison Officer programs,
Community-School Liaison Officer programs,
School Engagement Team programs,
High School Resource Officer programs,
School Engagement Team Officer Support programs.
School and Community Engagement and Safety Officer programs,
Youth Engagement Officer programs,
Values, Influences and Peers (VIP) programs,
DARE programs,
Inside Out programs,
or more general terms such as School Police programs.
Regardless of naming, the presence of police and the associated systemic impacts remain consistent. In Ontario, officers in schools are typically employed either by local police services or the Ontario Provincial Police.
Who exactly funds police-in-school programs?
Funding for police-in-school programs varies across Ontario and can come from multiple sources, including local police budgets, school boards, and municipalities, sometimes through shared funding arrangements.
At the provincial level, public funds (millions of tax dollars) have also been directed toward these programs through the Ministry of the Solicitor General under both Liberal and Conservative governments, including through grants such as the Safer Communities Grant and Community Safety and Policing local grant priorities. See the below articles for more information:
Recent and current community safety project grant recipients: https://www.ontario.ca/page/current-community-safety-project-grant-recipients
Although the Ministry of Education does not directly fund these programs, they are still supported through public funds. A lack of transparency makes it difficult to determine the full extent of historical and ongoing funding, prompting efforts such as Freedom of Information requests to uncover this data.
At the federal level, responses from Indigenous Services Canada and Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada indicate that school-based policing is not funded through their education-related programming.
What are the results of police-in-school program reviews?
Research, reports, and lived experiences continue to demonstrate the harmful impacts of police-in-school programs, particularly for students who are Black, Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQQIA+, disabled, neurodivergent, or living with precarious immigration status.
While some reviews report that a numerical majority of students feel indifferent, unaware of, or even positive toward these programs, applying an equity and human rights-based lens shifts the focus to those most negatively impacted. Even if this group represents a numerical minority, their experiences are sufficient to justify the removal of such programs. Distinguishing between a numerical majority and numerical minority is important, and is reaffirmed by a 2021 report titled The State of School Liaison Programs in Canada. On page 30 of the report, it states “although some may favour SLO programs, schools are supposed to support and nourish all students. Thus, even if a small minority of the population demands the removal of police from schools, this is sufficient to support the disbanding of SLO programs in Canadian schools.”
Who exactly has the power to make the decision of removing police-in-school programs?
Decision-making power around police-in-school programs is distributed across multiple levels. At the local level, school boards—often through elected trustees or senior staff—have been the primary bodies making decisions to remove these programs.
Police boards and municipalities may also influence outcomes, particularly through funding decisions, although none can force school boards to adopt such programs. Municipal governments, while not responsible for education, can choose to divest funds from these programs and reinvest in community supports.
Despite these local dynamics, the issue is fundamentally systemic and falls under provincial jurisdiction. The provincial government has the authority to enact a coordinated response, including amending existing protocols and issuing directives to eliminate police-in-school programs entirely.
*Note: At the time of this video, provincial frameworks did not mandate police presence in schools, and existing protocols positioned police involvement as a last resort. This is why it is mentioned that addressing this issue at a systems level requires political will and a province-wide approach to ensure consistent and sustainable change. However, with the passing of Bill 33, police-in-schools programs are now mandated.
The Provincial Model for Local Police School Board Protocol can be amended to ensure no police-in-school programs in any shape or form. The Ministry of Education can give a directive and mandate the removal of all any type of police-in-school programs as a first and necessary step moving towards a policing-free schools Ontario. This is what we need. We need a province-wide structural and systemic change. A change that is sustainable. A systems and provincial response is needed. That is also what the provincial campaign for policing-free schools Ontario, #PolicingFreeSchoolsON, is focused on.
It also serves as a preventative measure, as learning from our U.S.-based partners, even when there have been local wins, states, which is what is equivalent to provinces and territories here, have been attempting to mandate police presence in schools or have actually already pushed through a school police mandate. When looking at not just the provincial landscape and terrains, but even wider at the national landscape, this too is a realistic fear here as well.
This said, are you interested in more detailed information about police-in-school programs through a national lens and beyond?
Make sure to check out the records for Policing Free Schools’ Back to School Digital Teach-in three-part series, and specifically part two of three titled Police(ing) in Schools: National Landscape & Terrains.