TIME TO RETHINK OUR SAFE SCHOOLS

Sometimes the pendulum swings too far, and Ontario's Safe Schools Act
is probably a good example.

Enacted by the previous provincial government, under `The Common Sense
Revolution, Mark II,' the act has virtually zero tolerance for
students. It imposes automatic suspensions and expulsions for offences
such as assault, drug trafficking, selling or carrying weapons or alcohol.

Students can also be immediately suspended for threatening to harm
another student, vandalism, swearing and or being under the influence
of alcohol or drugs.

The act was a response to situations in Ontario schools that had
gotten out of hand. Teachers and students just didn't feel safe in
some Ontario schools, an atmosphere that's clearly counter-productive
to learning.

But the act merits review for a few reasons. In Toronto, it's now
being called the Gang Recruitment Act. Teenagers expelled from school
often end up in gangs, and, anyone paying attention to the headlines
has seen the violence and death caused by Toronto gangs.

Opponents of the Safe Schools Act say throwing kids out on the streets
is not an answer, and it's difficult to disagree. There have to be
some alternate education streams developed so that troubled teens have
a choice, other than gangs.

It's not just punishment for the serious offences, however, that needs
re-thinking. A 16-year-old Brampton resident was suspended for 20 days
from school for stealing a can of pop and a bag of potato chips, which
he denied doing.

On any scale of justice, that's a heavy hand.

Not that there isn't merit in showing Ontario students that actions
have consequences, and that illegal actions have dire consequences. An
argument can certainly be made that students who bring weapons or
drugs to school might already have gang connections.

And that the majority of students attending Ontario schools deserve to
be safe, and to feel safe as well.

But in the same breath, it's wrong to do nothing to help students who
have run afoul of the law. They are youths, teenagers -- not hardened
criminals -- and it's too early to give up on them.

>From a purely financial point of view, it's also much less expensive
to help them now than to deal with them later through police, our
justice and prison systems.

The question is how?

Perhaps Ontario school officials need to find a better way of
identifying students with problems at at earlier age. Maybe the answer
is a better mentor system, one that teams older students with younger
ones, to help show them the way.

The Liberals say they will begin public consultations on the Safe
schools Act within the next few weeks. But any solutions can't just be
for Toronto schools. There has to be a flexibility that allows school
officials to deal with each situation on its own merits.

That doesn't mean that serious offences involving assaults and weapons
should be treated lightly.

But the number of school suspensions jumped by 40 per cent in the Safe
Schools Act's first year, and have stayed there ever since.

Ontario schools need to be safe, no question. However, every kid
cannot be treated the same way, because every kid is different. The
pendulum needs to swing back a little.