big issues:bullying in schools

Toronto has four publicly funded school boards, split by language (English or French) and faith (public or Catholic). The English-language boards are the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB). The French-language boards are Conseil scolaire Viamonde and Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir.

Before you read: a note on provincial supervision. The TDSB and TCDSB have been under provincial supervision since June 27, 2025. Viamonde and MonAvenir are not. While supervision is in place, provincially appointed supervisors exercise powers that would normally belong to elected trustees. Unless otherwise noted, this primer describes a trustee's ordinary powers, outside supervision. To read more: Ontario government.

Bullying affects whether students feel safe at school. Ontario requires every publicly funded school board to have policies and plans to prevent and respond to bullying. Bullying can take physical, verbal, social, or online forms. In 2025, a national report found that 71% of Canadian youth aged 12 to 17 had faced some form of bullying in the past year.

The Province sets many of the rules boards must follow when responding to bullying.

School boards work within the provincial framework. Trustees help shape board policies, priorities, and spending, but they do not manage individual incidents. Here are three ways to understand the role trustees play in bullying prevention and response: the policies they approve, how each board's approach differs, and what has changed recently. These are not the only factors, and the largest levers belong to the Province.