School boards must allow local police to access campuses and school resource officer programs for nine prescribed activities

Plain-language summary · AI-assisted · not legal advice

A new regulation under the Education Act sets out the specific circumstances in which school boards must permit local police services to access school premises and participate in school programs. Nine categories of activities are covered, including school resource officer programs, emergency preparedness drills, road safety programs, career days, and community events. Where a local police service offers a school resource officer program in the board's primary language of instruction, the board must enter into a memorandum of understanding with that service, inform students and families about the program, and engage the community in its implementation. Boards cannot condition police participation on prior approval of program materials, though they may request to review materials in advance. If a board makes good-faith efforts to collaborate with police but the police service does not reasonably participate, the board is deemed to have met its obligations.

Who this affects: school board administrators · school principals · local police services · parents and guardians · students