Tackling anti-Black racism and discrimination in education

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Introduction and Overview

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) recognizes the struggles stemming from systemic anti-Black racism and discrimination in education, which impedes and stifles progress for many Black communities across Ontario for generations. The recent rise and increased visibility of anti-Black racism and discrimination in Ontario has sparked and renewed persistent calls to combat these issues.

Systemic anti-Black racism and discrimination in Ontario’s publicly funded education system is a crisis.

Seven decades of reports, studies and grassroots work has proved that anti-Black racism and discrimination exists in education. The OHRC has studied, investigated, and litigated matters involving systemic anti-Black racism and discrimination in education for decades, and recent studies show the problems still exist. It is deeply embedded in our institutions, policies, and practices, including in the education system.

The OHRC is heartened by the rise in community activism and engagement concerning anti-Black racism and discrimination in the public education system. As we look ahead at our collective future possibilities, collaboration with communities, schools, educators, and duty-holders is crucial to bring about the change needed for Black students. Community voices and voices of Black professionals in the education system must be heard to address anti-Black racism and discrimination in education and to identify and develop solutions focused on Black students’ well-being, achievement, and belonging.

1. What is the OHRC’s Action Plan for Addressing Anti-Black Racism and discrimination in Education?

The Dreams Delayed: Addressing Systemic Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Ontario’s Public Education System (“Action Plan”) outlines the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s strategy to hold all duty-holders accountable for their legal obligation under the Ontario Human Rights Code.

The Action Plan specifies 29 immediate and intermediate actions for the Ministry of Education, school boards, unions, faculties of education, and all education professionals to make actionable change in areas of practice, policy, and program implementation.

2. What will the Action Plan achieve?

The Action Plan outlines concrete steps for all duty-holders in Ontario’s publicly funded education system to improve outcomes for Black students and Black educators, including:

Black students must be able to learn in school environments free from racial discrimination and harassment, including anti-Black discrimination.
Black students must have equal opportunities to benefit from the education system, supporting their full potential. Within four years, the system should demonstrate:

Positive well-being and a sense of belonging
Improved Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) results, especially in literacy and numeracy
Higher graduation rates.

Black educators and administrators must be able to work in environments free from discrimination and harassment based on race and have equal opportunities to achieve their full professional potential.
Within four years, the education system should demonstrate improved relationships between educators, Black students, families, and communities, with reductions in:

Suspension rates
Unjustified formal and informal streaming
Calls to police and Children’s Aid Societies.

3. How will the OHRC hold duty-holders accountable for the implementation of the calls to action in the Action Plan?

The OHRC is committed to working with duty-holders and rights-holders to improve outcomes for Black students and educators by engaging with unions, the Ministry of Education, faculties of education and the Ontario College of Teachers on the implementation of the calls to action directed to them and will report publicly on outcomes.

To ensure accountability, the OHRC will monitor the implementation of the actions. This will require active and comprehensive monitoring from community organizations, individuals, and the broader public to hold education duty-holders accountable for improving outcomes for Black students, educators, and families.

4. Some community members and organizations have issued calls and petitions to launch a public inquiry. Why did the OHRC not launch a public inquiry?

The OHRC recognizes there is systemic anti-Black racism in Ontario’s publicly funded education system and acknowledges that the significant increase in hate across our society has exacerbated the crisis.

The OHRC acknowledges the campaign from community groups for an inquiry.

The OHRC heard from Black communities that they do not need to be further studied and researched and concluded that immediate action was imperative.

The OHRC published a Compendium of Recommendations, which comprised of 83 reports spanning seven decades (1948 to 2023) and compiled 190 recommendations, all confirming the existence and impact of anti-Black racism and discrimination in education on students, educators, families, and communities. An inquiry would seek to establish these same facts, but decades of research and community engagement have already made it clear: the system is in crisis, and education leaders must take targeted action now.

5. When does the OHRC conduct an inquiry?

The OHRC can conduct a review or an inquiry when there is public interest to investigate incidents or conditions that may lead to tension or conflict within a community, institution, or sector of the economy, or when the OHRC needs to assess whether programs, policies, and practices comply with the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Further information about our inquiry strategy can be found here: https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/our-commitment-service/litigation-and-inquiry-strategy

6. How does the OHRC respond to requests for inquiries?

Requests for inquiries are assessed by the OHRC on whether the issue raised is within the OHRC’s mandate and constitutes a matter of public interest. If so, the OHRC may initiate a formal inquiry, which involves gathering information, conducting investigations, interviewing relevant parties, and ultimately issuing recommendations for policy or practice changes to address the systemic issue at hand.

The OHRC has the unique power under the Human Rights Code to hold systemic inquiries in the public interest under section 31 of the Code.

The information obtained in an inquiry under section 31 of the Code may be used as evidence in a proceeding before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO). However, the OHRC does not have the same power as the HRTO to make legal findings of discrimination or to order remedies.

7. What did the OHRC hear from communities on these issues?

In April 2023, the OHRC held roundtable discussions with students and duty-holders in the education sector to address systemic discrimination in Ontario’s publicly funded education system. Insights from these discussions were summarized in the What We Heard report.

From October 2023 – February 2024, the OHRC conducted consultations across the province with students, families, educators, administrators, and community members. Participants emphasized the need for:

Greater representation of Black educators to provide support and mentorship to students
Safe spaces where Black students can feel supported and included, such as Black Student Associations and Unions
Cultural competency training for educators to better understand Black students’ backgrounds, to treat Black students sensitively, and integrate Black history and achievements across subjects
Celebrating Black identity, fostering Black Joy, and creating environments where Black students can truly flourish
Addressing the harassment Black students face, including racial slurs and discrimination based on physical characteristics
Tackling burnout among Black educators caused by harassment and discrimination, and providing opportunities for professional advancement
Creating supportive and inclusive environments where Black students can express their cultures without fear

8. Where did the OHRC hold consultations across Ontario?

The OHRC held in-person consultations in Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Ottawa, Sudbury, Windsor, and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). In addition, we organized province-wide virtual sessions to ensure wide-reaching engagement with communities across Ontario.

9. Did the OHRC also consider anti-Black racism in French language school boards?

Yes, the OHRC has reached out to the Francophone community on this issue. The April 2023 roundtable discussions hosted by the OHRC included French language educators and students.

The community consultations in Sudbury, Ottawa, and the Greater Toronto Area, as well as the province-wide virtual consultation, included a Francophone session in each.

10. How is the OHRC addressing regional differences across school boards?

The issues and challenges faced by Black children, Black families, and Black educators vary across regions and school boards within Ontario.

While different communities face various challenges, the issue of anti-Black racism in schools remains constant. As part of our consultation, the OHRC identified stakeholders and community groups across the province to hear various perspectives and learn about specific issues and concerns in different regions.

11. What is anti-Black racism?

Anti-Black racism is prejudice, attitudes, beliefs, stereotyping and discrimination that is directed at people of African descent. It is rooted in the unique history and experience of enslavement and its ongoing legacy.

Anti-Black racism is deeply entrenched in Canadian institutions, policies, and practices, to the extent that it is either functionally normalized or rendered invisible to the broader society.

The legacy of anti-Black racism lies in the current social, economic, and political marginalization of Black Canadians, including unequal opportunities, lower socio-economic status, poor health and mental health outcomes, higher unemployment, significant poverty rates, and overrepresentation in the criminal justice system and child welfare systems.

The term ‘anti-Black racism’ seeks to highlight the unique nature of systemic racism on Black Canadians and the history and experiences of slavery and colonization of people of Black/African descent in Canada.

12. I think my human rights have been violated. What should I do?

The OHRC does not deal with individual complaints (known as applications).

If you need human rights legal advice or help filing an application with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, contact the Ontario Human Rights Legal Support Centre http://www.hrlsc.on.ca/en/at: 416-597-4900 or 1-866-625-5179 and speak with a Human Rights Advisor.

To file an application directly with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario visit their website and follow the instructions for How to file an application.

Learn more about Ontario’s Human Rights System

Related Resources

OHRC Actions to Date

The OHRC has used its mandate in several ways to inquire into and address anti-Black racism and discrimination in the education sector. Some recent activities include:

On February 20, 2024, wrote a letter to Teachers and Education Workers Unions regarding Professional Development Expenditures
On February 7, 2024, completed our engagement with communities across Ontario.
• On November 17, 2023, Radio-Canada – Jonction 11-17 interviewed the OHRC on its Action Plan.
On September 12, 2023, released a statement No Room for Hate in Schools
On June 13, 2023, released a statement on Anti-Hate, reflecting on the rise of hate witnessed in Ontario’s public education system.
Released a statement on tackling anti-Black racism in education on March 8, 2023.
Released a letter to community members on OHRC’s progress on its Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Education initiative on February 27, 2023.
Called for written submissions to support development of the Action Plan. The OHRC received written submissions between June 27 and September 30, 2023, providing insight on issues relating to anti-Black racism and discrimination in Ontario’s publicly funded education system.
Hosted two-day roundtable discussions with Black students and education professionals on April 27 -28, 2023, to hear from them directly on issues of anti-Black racism and discrimination in education.
Released a statement on Code obligations of education officials on February 16, 2023.
Wrote a letter to the Toronto District School Board on its Collaborative Approach to School and Community Safety Report, in December 2022, to remind the board that human rights principles and equity-seeking strategies must be used to ensure all students can benefit from a welcoming school environment.
Wrote a letter to the York Catholic District School Board on its review of their School Resource Office and Values Influences and Peers programs, in April 2022, reminding the board to ensure that the Code-protected interests of all students are acknowledged and that values espoused by the Code shape the context of any student-officer engagement.
Released its Right to Read inquiry report in February 2022 on human rights issues affecting students with reading disabilities, including dyslexia.
- The report resulted in findings that students experiencing various forms of marginalization, including Black students, are disproportionately represented in reading challenges.
- The OHRC continues to monitor progress on the recommendations outlined in the report and engage with rights-holders and duty-holders on these matters.
Released its Framework for change to address systemic racism in policing, in July 2021, which calls for a provincial review of School Resource/Liaison Officer (SRO) programs as a necessary next step to make sure Black students consistently benefit from welcoming and inclusive learning environments.
Wrote a letter to the Minister of Education, in June 2020, following the Ministry’s Peel District School Board review, noting that Black students in other communities face many of the same concerns about systemic racism that were cited in the review. The OHRC called on the Ministry to expand its directives beyond Peel region to other boards, and ensure redress for the historic experiences of Black students who faced systemic discrimination in the education system.
Made a submission to the Ministry of Education in 2018, based on census data showing achievement gaps for Black students and recommended systemic changes including making sure that learning environments are free from discrimination; creating equitable learning opportunities, assessments and outcomes; enhancing curriculum to include human rights content; and equipping educators to teach human rights.
Conducted community consultations on Black students’ experiences in the education system as part of its racial profiling consultation.
- The resulting report, Under Suspicion, noted that Black students are more likely to be stereotyped as having behavioural difficulties or being threatening, and are more likely to experience harsher treatment, including higher rates of discipline, school calls to police, police stops, questioning and arrests.
- Black students also reported facing low academic expectations from teachers, their academic achievements not being recognized, and being discouraged from fulfilling their educational potential.
- In Under Suspicion, the OHRC called for leadership and organizational change strategies, new policies and procedures, anti-bias training, better communication and engagement with affected communities, and monitoring and accountability mechanisms, including data collection.
Conducted an inquiry into the over-representation of Black children in Ontario’s child welfare system, and in its report, Interrupted childhoods, found that professionals, including people employed in schools, over-report racialized families to child welfare authorities and that this may be linked to racial bias.
Initiated and resolved cases involving Black teachers who were denied promotions into positions of responsibility because of systemic anti-Black racism.
Initiated and resolved human rights complaints against various school boards and the Ministry of Education alleging that “safe schools” provisions of the Education Act and related strict discipline policies disproportionately affected racialized students and students with disabilities, resulting in higher rates of suspensions and expulsions.