Bill 123 explained in plain English
Erin's Law (Child Sexual Abuse Prevention and Reporting), 2024
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 43rd 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
Bill 123 amends Ontario's Education Act to require school boards to establish annual child sexual abuse prevention and reporting policies for students, and to provide information to parents, guardians, teachers, and staff.
Bill 123, called Erin's Law (Child Sexual Abuse Prevention and Reporting), 2024, makes changes to Ontario's Education Act. The bill requires every school board in Ontario to create and follow a policy that ensures students receive annual education about child sexual abuse prevention and reporting. This education must be delivered in a way that is appropriate for each age group and must include teaching students how to recognize signs of child sexual abuse and how to tell a trusted adult about it. The bill also requires school boards to share information with parents and guardians about child sexual abuse prevention and reporting, including details about counselling and resources available to children who have been sexually abused. Additionally, school boards must provide this same type of information annually to all teachers and other staff members who work in their schools. The provincial Education Minister is given the power to make regulations that set out the specific details of how school boards must carry out these requirements, including what methods they must use and what specific information they must include.
- Requires every school board in Ontario to establish a policy ensuring students receive annual education on child sexual abuse prevention and reporting in an age-appropriate manner
- Requires the policy to include teaching students how to recognize signs of child sexual abuse and how to tell a trusted adult
- Requires school boards to make information about child sexual abuse prevention and reporting available to all parents and guardians of students
- Requires information made available to parents and guardians to include details about counselling and resources for children who have been sexually abused
- Requires school boards to provide information annually to all teachers and other staff about child sexual abuse prevention and reporting
- Requires information provided to teachers and staff to include details about counselling and resources for children who have been sexually abused
- Gives the Education Minister authority to make regulations governing how school boards must establish and carry out these policies and provide information
- School boards in Ontario
- Students in Ontario schools
- Parents and guardians of students in Ontario schools
- Teachers and other staff employed in Ontario schools
- Children who may experience or have experienced sexual abuse
- The Ontario Education Minister
- School boards must ensure a policy is established requiring annual student engagement on child sexual abuse prevention and reporting in a developmentally appropriate manner (Section 170.0.1(1))
- School boards must make information on child sexual abuse prevention and reporting available to all parents and guardians, including information on counselling and resources (Section 170.0.1(2))
- School boards must provide annual information on child sexual abuse prevention and reporting to all teachers and staff, including information on counselling and resources (Section 170.0.1(3))
- The Education Minister may make regulations to govern the policy requirements, including prescribing how engagement must be carried out and what information must be provided (Section 170.0.1(4))
- Bill 123 received Royal Assent on December 19, 2024
- The Act comes into force on September 1, 2024 (Section 2)
- The bill does not specify what specific content or curriculum materials school boards must use to teach students about child sexual abuse prevention and reporting; these details are to be determined by regulations the Minister will make
- The bill does not specify what specific counselling and resources information must be made available or provided; these details are to be determined by future regulations
- The bill does not specify the format or method by which parents and guardians must be informed; this is to be determined by future regulations
- The bill does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties if school boards fail to comply with the requirements
- The bill does not specify whether the requirements apply to all school boards equally or if there are any exemptions
A new section (170.0.1) is added that creates duties for school boards to establish policies on child sexual abuse prevention and reporting for students, parents, guardians, teachers, and staff. The Education Minister is authorized to make regulations to specify how these requirements must be satisfied.
Source: Section 1 and new section 170.0.1
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 does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
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.
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