April 9, 2015

Dear Parents/Guardians of Secondary School Students:

I wanted to share some information with you regarding the possibility of labour disruption in our
secondary schools. Effective April 19, 2015, our secondary school teachers and secondary school
occasional teachers will be in a legal strike position. Strike action can take a number of forms, such
as work to rule, partial withdrawal of service, rotating strikes, or full withdrawal of service. However,
the union must provide 5 days notice prior to commencing any type of action.
Our secondary teachers and occasional teachers are represented by the Ontario Secondary School
Teachers Federation (OSSTF). In a statement on Saturday, March 14th, the president of OSSTF
Ontario announced that OSSTF is considering a full withdrawal of services in 7 Ontario school
districts, including the OCDSB, by the end of April 2015. At that time, our union was not in a legal
strike position and the school district remained and continues to remain committed to negotiating fair
local collective agreements.
However, this week, the possibility of labour disruption became more imminent once we received
formal notification that the union will be in a legal strike position on April 19, 2015.
Based on this information, the OCDSB has begun the strike contingency planning process in the
event of a full withdrawal of service.
To date, there has been no impact on curriculum delivery or extracurricular activities offered at our
schools. Regular secondary school operations are expected to continue as usual unless and until we
receive formal notice from the union of a withdrawal of service. Should that happen, we will notify
students and their families immediately.
I understand that the potential for labour disruption creates anxiety for our students, parents and staff.
I am very sorry to have to raise this possibility with you, but the district is committed to keeping
parents and students informed. We are actively working on contingency plans so that we can answer
the many questions that you will have. We have posted background information on the OCDSB
website and will continue to add to that in the days ahead to ensure that you have as much
information as possible. You can also follow the updates posted to the OCDSBs Facebook and
Twitter accounts. If you have questions, please feel free to contact your school principal or e-mail us
at chat@ocdsb.ca.
In closing, I would like to reiterate that this situation affects secondary schools only, including Evening
School and International Language programs offered on Saturday mornings. Elementary schools,
including students enrolled in elementary programs in 7-12 schools, are not affected at this time.
Regular school operations will continue at secondary schools until further notice.
Yours sincerely,
Jennifer Adams
Director of Education/Secretary of the Board

Common Questions
1. Can schools stay open during labour disruption?
Our first priority is always the safety of students and staff. Schools will only remain open if it is
safe for students. Student safety includes our ability to ensure appropriate supervision for
students as well as the care and maintenance of the building. Generally speaking, the ability to
keep schools open may be different in a work to rule situation than it would be in a full withdrawal
of service situation. As more information becomes available, we will provide more certainty on the
potential of school closure. Throughout any labour disruption, the assessment of student safety
will be ongoing.
2. How will special education services be affected in the event of labour disruption?
Under the Human Rights Code, the District has an obligation to continue to provide service for
special needs students, as long as services are being provided for other students. Contingency
plans will be put into place to attempt to meet the needs of exceptional students insofar as
possible, and based on the nature of any labour disruption. In the event that schools are closed,
the closure will also apply to special education students.
3. How will marks for students in grade 12 be transferred to universities and colleges?
We anticipate that mid-term grades for all secondary students will be submitted prior to any labour
action. These grades will be provided to universities and colleges through OUAC and OCAC as
usual. We have also been in contact with the Ministry of Education regarding this situation and to
discuss provisions to ensure that in the event of labour disruption, our students are not penalized
in their application to university or college programs. We will continue to advocate in this regard.
4. How will field trips, excursions and extra-curricular activities be affected?
For now, all of these activities are expected to run as planned and/or previously scheduled. We
are aware that a number of schools have trips/excursions planned during the week of April
20th and it would be premature on our part to cancel those events. We will re-assess this
decision on a weekly basis, subject to the status of any labour disruption. As a precaution and
effective immediately, we will not be approving any new field trips for secondary students for the
balance of this school year. Again, this decision will be re-assessed on a weekly basis, subject to
the status of any labour disruption.
5. Will community use of school permits be affected by labour disruption?
Every effort will be made to maintain commitments to the community and to continue community
use permits. However, our first priority is health and safety. If the circumstances of
the labour disruption create conditions which are deemed unsafe or impractical, community use
permits may need to be cancelled. If for some reason this occurs, every effort will be made to
give as much notice to our community partners as possible.
6. Where can I get more information?
We are committed to keeping you informed. More information is available on the OCDSB website
at www.ocdsb.ca/med/Labour_Relations. You can also follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.