A policy to have all volunteers who work with students under the age of 18 in Upper Grand District School Board schools obtain a vulnerable sector check from police was heavily discussed at Tuesday night's UGDSB meeting.
The policy was not approved and came to a tie vote, which is considered a failed vote.
Following the vote trustee Mike Foley, put forth a motion to have the policy reviewed again before it is again voted on at a future board meeting. His motion carried.
Two delegates not in favour of the new policy spoke prior to the vote.
“Without volunteers we’re saying goodbye to things like graduation ceremonies. We’re saying goodbye to snack programs. We’re saying goodbye to pizza lunches. We’re saying goodbye to book fairs. We’re saying goodbye to playgrounds. All of these things are facilitated by volunteers,” said delegate Jennifer Tulloch.
“Let’s face it, our schools are under-resourced,” she said.
Tulloch said it needs to be easier for people to volunteer, not more difficult. She said she does agree there should be a vulnerable sector check when volunteers are working with students in a high risk setting like overnight field trips.
She said the policy goes against equity, diversity and inclusion because some community members may not be comfortable going to a police station to obtain a vulnerable sector check.
“I absolutely think the vulnerable sector check is necessary where there is close contact or if somebody is unsupervised,” said Jen MacLeod, delegate and teacher.
“This idea that all school volunteers need it for any volunteer activity. I think we need to be really careful of what we’re talking about. It’s quite restrictive,” said MacLeod.
She said she was concerned when she read over the policy in the volunteer risk assessment tool where it outlined a medium risk of regular contact like hugging and a high risk of consistent contact like toileting. MacLeod said no volunteer should ever engage in those types of contact.
Foley said he was also concerned with the language of the degree of physical contact.
"We are responsible for our students when they're in our care. I believe that a vulnerable sector check is absolutely necessary for anyone that we're going to allow to work at our schools or be with our students," said trustee Gail Campbell. She said people who feel they can't get a vulnerable sector check should not be volunteers.
A vulnerable sector check is a snapshot and not a precise tool and in some cases volunteers need to have their finger prints taken for the check which can take up to 120 days to receive back, said trustee Martha McNeil.
"My world is human trafficking and all it takes is to get to know a student. That doesn't mean touching them. That doesn't mean working with them closely. That means making sure you take a trip to the bathroom. That means making sure you a student a few times to ingratiate them and make it so they can become someone that can be groomed," trustee Barbara Lustgarten Evoy said passionately.
For more information readers can view the draft policy and procedures.
