Secularism in schools: Drainville takes a big step forward with its bill
Educational services with their faces uncovered, the extension of the ban on religious symbols to other staff members and mandatory evaluation of teachers every year: the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, is taking a big step forward to strengthen secularism in Quebec schools, with the tabling of a bill in the National Assembly.
"I am aware that this bill will disturb, but we cannot stand idly by," said Minister Drainville at a press conference Thursday, who said he was "upset" by the "abuses reported in several schools" recently, including at Bedford Elementary School in Montreal.
This bill "aims to ensure that Quebec schools remain healthy, safe and secular places of learning for our students," he added.
Quebec wants to ban the wearing of the full-face veil by students, extend the ban on the wearing of religious symbols to all staff members, tighten the guidelines surrounding religious accommodations and require school principals to evaluate their teachers every year (see details below).
The initiative has been received with reservations in the school system, where stakeholders share its objectives while fearing its implementation, which could prove complex on a daily basis.
"The government is in a bad situation right now and it should not use this polarizing issue to make gains at the expense of the school system," said the president of the Centrale des syndicats du Québec, Éric Gingras.
For its part, the Confederation of National Trade Unions, which represents the majority of support employees in the school system, believes that "it is unacceptable that the government imposes a rigid vision of secularism by prohibiting the wearing of religious symbols by all staff."
Minister Drainville, who hopes that this bill will be the subject of a "strong consensus," plans to use the notwithstanding clause for the vast majority of the measures presented in the bill, in order to avoid possible legal proceedings.
Bill to strengthen secularism in schools: here is an overview of the measures presentedBan on wall-to-wall full-face veils"The full veil in our classes in Quebec is a no. We are drawing a red line," said Minister Drainville, while being unable to put a figure on the number of students who could be affected. "It's the principle that is at issue here, not just the number," he said, while a recent report mentioned a few cases reported in a high school. All services provided in an educational setting will have to take place with their faces uncovered to facilitate learning but also for safety issues, he said.
This obligation applies to anyone who enters a public or private school (including those that are not subsidized), which includes parents who pick up their child. The measure also extends to students who receive educational services from a school service centre as part of homeschooling.
Expansion of the ban on the wearing of religious symbolsThe ban will extend to all public school staff, not just teachers. Volunteers and coaches in sports-study programs, for example, will also be affected. Since a grandfather clause is provided, the Minister does not believe that this measure will complicate recruitment efforts despite the shortage, since the affected employees will be able to remain in their positions. "I don't see any stakes," he said.
Religious accommodations refusedQuebec wants to tighten the management of accommodation requests in the school system. Absences of students for religious reasons will no longer be accepted. Requests for cafeteria menus and classroom content will also be denied. In addition, the number of leaves granted to staff members must be the same, for reasons of equity, and these leaves must not be detrimental to educational services.
Mandatory annual evaluation for teachersTo ensure that science and sexuality education are taught in all public schools, teachers will have to be evaluated each year by their principal, to whom they will also have to submit their annual pedagogical planning. While teachers' unions see it as an "unnecessary layer of bureaucracy," Minister Drainville believes that this measure is necessary since the evaluation of teachers is currently done "in a very unequal way" in the school system, he said.
School is in FrenchAll school staff members in the French-language public network will be required to communicate only in French with their colleagues and students. This obligation, which does not extend to students among themselves, also applies to other stakeholders who provide services at school.
Stricter codes of conduct for studentsStudents will have to respect "non-negotiable" Quebec values, such as gender equality, in a context where schools must be free of racism and homophobia, the minister said. These obligations will have to be included in the code of conduct of all schools, which will have to provide for sanctions accordingly. However, Quebec does not yet know if uniform sanctions will be imposed in all public schools in the province. "We'll think about it. We haven't decided on that yet," said Minister Drainville.
"I am aware that this bill will disturb, but we cannot stand idly by," said Minister Drainville at a press conference Thursday, who said he was "upset" by the "abuses reported in several schools" recently, including at Bedford Elementary School in Montreal.
This bill "aims to ensure that Quebec schools remain healthy, safe and secular places of learning for our students," he added.
Quebec wants to ban the wearing of the full-face veil by students, extend the ban on the wearing of religious symbols to all staff members, tighten the guidelines surrounding religious accommodations and require school principals to evaluate their teachers every year (see details below).
The initiative has been received with reservations in the school system, where stakeholders share its objectives while fearing its implementation, which could prove complex on a daily basis.
"The government is in a bad situation right now and it should not use this polarizing issue to make gains at the expense of the school system," said the president of the Centrale des syndicats du Québec, Éric Gingras.
For its part, the Confederation of National Trade Unions, which represents the majority of support employees in the school system, believes that "it is unacceptable that the government imposes a rigid vision of secularism by prohibiting the wearing of religious symbols by all staff."
Minister Drainville, who hopes that this bill will be the subject of a "strong consensus," plans to use the notwithstanding clause for the vast majority of the measures presented in the bill, in order to avoid possible legal proceedings.
Bill to strengthen secularism in schools: here is an overview of the measures presentedBan on wall-to-wall full-face veils"The full veil in our classes in Quebec is a no. We are drawing a red line," said Minister Drainville, while being unable to put a figure on the number of students who could be affected. "It's the principle that is at issue here, not just the number," he said, while a recent report mentioned a few cases reported in a high school. All services provided in an educational setting will have to take place with their faces uncovered to facilitate learning but also for safety issues, he said.
This obligation applies to anyone who enters a public or private school (including those that are not subsidized), which includes parents who pick up their child. The measure also extends to students who receive educational services from a school service centre as part of homeschooling.
Expansion of the ban on the wearing of religious symbolsThe ban will extend to all public school staff, not just teachers. Volunteers and coaches in sports-study programs, for example, will also be affected. Since a grandfather clause is provided, the Minister does not believe that this measure will complicate recruitment efforts despite the shortage, since the affected employees will be able to remain in their positions. "I don't see any stakes," he said.
Religious accommodations refusedQuebec wants to tighten the management of accommodation requests in the school system. Absences of students for religious reasons will no longer be accepted. Requests for cafeteria menus and classroom content will also be denied. In addition, the number of leaves granted to staff members must be the same, for reasons of equity, and these leaves must not be detrimental to educational services.
Mandatory annual evaluation for teachersTo ensure that science and sexuality education are taught in all public schools, teachers will have to be evaluated each year by their principal, to whom they will also have to submit their annual pedagogical planning. While teachers' unions see it as an "unnecessary layer of bureaucracy," Minister Drainville believes that this measure is necessary since the evaluation of teachers is currently done "in a very unequal way" in the school system, he said.
School is in FrenchAll school staff members in the French-language public network will be required to communicate only in French with their colleagues and students. This obligation, which does not extend to students among themselves, also applies to other stakeholders who provide services at school.
Stricter codes of conduct for studentsStudents will have to respect "non-negotiable" Quebec values, such as gender equality, in a context where schools must be free of racism and homophobia, the minister said. These obligations will have to be included in the code of conduct of all schools, which will have to provide for sanctions accordingly. However, Quebec does not yet know if uniform sanctions will be imposed in all public schools in the province. "We'll think about it. We haven't decided on that yet," said Minister Drainville.
