The election of School Council members is held in the first 30 days of the school year. Any parent can be elected to the School Council. Visit our School Council Elections webpage for information about:
- Policies and procedures
- A step-by-step guide to the election process
- Election of specific roles and representatives
- Forms and templates (self-nomination form, candidate form, ballot, etc.)
A memo has been shared with Principals containing further information about 2023 School Council elections. Please watch for more information from your school about election procedures.
Participating in School Council:
School Councils work to improve student achievement and enhance the accountability of the education system to parents and caregivers. They are legislated and governed by Regulation 612 of the Education Act. As collaborators in education, schools and School Councils recognize that all parents/caregivers have an equitable place in our schools' community, free from racism, classism, colonialism and other forms of discrimination, intentional or unintentional. Participation can take many forms and work to:
- offer parents/caregivers a variety of ways to share their voices, knowledge, and expertise
- built relationships between parents/caregivers and the school and breaking down walls and barriers
- strive to identify and eliminate barriers to participation for parents/caregivers
- disrupt practices that contribute to oppression based on race, class, nationality, abilities, gender, education, or language
Important Reminders:
- Review your School Council Constitution for specific provisions or by-laws regarding your elections. For example, your constitution may indicate whether you have a chair and vice-chair structure, a co-chair structure or either.
- A person is qualified to be a parent member of a School Council if they are the parent of a pupil enrolled in the school, including those whose children are currently attending the virtual school, unless they are employed at the school.
- If the parent is employed by the OCDSB but not at the school, they must take reasonable steps to inform the school community about their employment before the election.
- An OCDSB employee cannot be the chair or co-chair of a School Council.
- Nominees seek election to the council as parent members. While they may express interest in a particular role on the council as part of their election platform, the election is to the council itself. The election of officers (chair, co-chair) happens after the council members have been duly elected.
Eligibility and Information for OCV Families:
A parent of a student enrolled in an OCV school shall be eligible to seek election to a position on the School Council at their child’s home school, where an insufficient number of parents of students attending in person have put their names forward for election. OCV families are asked to reach out to their home school Principal if they would like more information about participation in your home school's elections.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Samah Suliman, Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Coordinator, at [email protected].