National Post - Year in ideas: The risk of overprotective school policies
In October, a London, Ont., school board banned peanut butter substitutes because they could be confused with their peanut counterparts — a policy that frustrated parents already trying to deal with the strict no-peanut rule. And uproar ensued in late January when a kindergartener in Laval, Que., was barred from participating in a contest because he brought his lunch to school in a disposable Ziploc bag, not Tupperware.
Concerns for student welfare may well be at the heart of these decisions. But in today’s reality of standardized testings and rankings, schools are worried about their image, too, said Shaheen Shariff, an associate professor in the department of integrated studies in education at Ď㽶ĘÓƵ.
“Schools and school boards are really concerned about their reputation and sometimes there’s overkill because they want to show they’re looking after children’s safety,” she said. “They’re mostly concerned about parents getting upset and suing them for not keeping their kids safe or not influencing policies that will keep their kids safe.”
Prof. Shariff, who is also director of definetheline.ca, a resource to help students, parents and educators understand the legal limits when it comes to bullying, said any policies that might infringe on a child’s right to things like freedom of expression must have a clearly justified greater good attached.
