Bill 14 explained in plain English
Anti-Bullying Act, 2012
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 40th Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
The Anti-Bullying Act, 2011, establishes Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, amends the Education Act to define and address bullying in schools, and requires school boards and principals to implement prevention plans and reporting procedures.
This bill, called the Anti-Bullying Act, 2011, aims to address bullying in Ontario schools. It designates a specific week each year as Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week. The bill also amends the Education Act to provide a clearer definition of bullying, including cyber-bullying, and specifies when bullying is considered to have occurred within a school setting. School boards are required to develop and implement bullying prevention plans, provide instruction on bullying prevention, offer remedial programs for victims and those who bully, and conduct professional development for teachers. Principals are given specific duties regarding reporting, investigating, and responding to bullying incidents. The Minister of Education will develop a model bullying prevention plan and compile information to help school boards. The bill also outlines reporting requirements from principals to school boards and from school boards to the Minister.
- Designates the week beginning with the third Sunday in November each year as Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week in Schools.
- Amends the Education Act to define bullying, including cyber-bullying.
- Specifies when bullying is considered to have occurred in a school setting, including on school property, during school activities, or through school-provided technology.
- Requires school boards to provide instruction on bullying prevention, remedial programs for victims and perpetrators, and professional development for teachers.
- Requires school boards to make information about recognizing and dealing with bullying available to the public.
- Requires the Minister of Education to develop a model bullying prevention plan for school boards.
- Requires school boards to establish and submit bullying prevention plans to the Minister for approval.
- Requires principals to report observed acts of bullying, investigate reports, and take action as specified in the bill.
- Requires principals to report annually to school boards on bullying incidents.
- Requires school boards to forward these reports to the Minister of Education.
- Students
- Teachers
- School staff and volunteers
- School boards
- Principals
- The Minister of Education
- Parents and guardians of students
- Teachers, staff, and volunteers are obligated to report observed acts of bullying to the principal.
- Principals are obligated to investigate reports of bullying and take specified actions.
- School boards are obligated to establish and implement bullying prevention plans.
- School boards are obligated to provide instruction, remedial programs, and professional development related to bullying.
- The Minister is obligated to develop a model bullying prevention plan and compile related information.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent (for most provisions).
- Specific amendments related to section 4(1), sections 5, 6, and 7 come into force on September 1, 2012.
- The bill outlines disciplinary actions that a principal may take against a perpetrator of bullying or against someone who makes a false accusation of bullying.
- The bill details procedures for notifying law enforcement agencies if criminal charges may be laid.
- The bill does not specify the exact content of the 'curriculum guidelines' mentioned in relation to bullying prevention instruction.
- The bill does not detail the specific 'regulations' that may prescribe further matters for bullying prevention plans or review timelines.
- The bill states that the model bullying prevention plan developed by the Minister is not a policy and not a regulation, suggesting it serves as a guideline rather than a binding rule.
This bill amends the Education Act to define bullying, including cyber-bullying, and establishes new requirements for schools, school boards, and the Minister of Education regarding bullying prevention and response. It also outlines specific duties for principals and teachers.
Source: Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the bill amend the Education Act.
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced