Quick Answer: Ontario’s anti-bullying policy in schools is governed by the Education Act and multiple Policy/Program Memoranda, primarily PPM 144 (Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan) and PPM 145 (Progressive Discipline and Promoting Positive Student Behaviour). Under Ontario law, bullying is defined as aggressive and typically repeated behaviour by a student that is intended to cause or is likely to cause harm, fear, or distress to another individual, and that occurs where there is a real or perceived power imbalance. Every Ontario school board must have a documented Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan. When bullying occurs, schools are required to investigate, intervene, and communicate with parents of affected students. Principals must notify parents when a student has been harmed by another student’s bullying.
Key Highlights of Anti-Bullying Policy in Ontario Schools
- Ontario’s legal definition of bullying under the Education Act includes three elements: aggressive and typically repeated behaviour; intention or likely effect of causing harm, fear, or distress (physical, psychological, social, academic, or reputational); and a real or perceived power imbalance between the student who bullies and the student who is harmed.
- The Accepting Schools Act (Bill 13, 2012) amended the Education Act to require schools to support students with sexual orientation and gender identity issues and to include bullying based on these characteristics as a specific prohibition.
- PPM 144 requires every Ontario public school board to develop and implement a Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan in consultation with staff, students, and parents.
- The Keeping Our Kids Safe at School Act (Bill 157, 2010) requires all school staff, not just teachers and administrators, to report serious incidents that could lead to suspension or expulsion to the principal. Principals must notify parents of students who have been harmed.
- Cyberbullying, including actions that happen outside school hours but that have an impact on the school environment, is included within the scope of Ontario’s bullying definition and discipline framework.
- Suspension must be considered (not automatically applied) for every incident of bullying under Ontario’s progressive discipline framework. The severity, frequency, and context of the bullying are all factors.
Ontario’s Legal Framework for Anti-Bullying in Schools
The Education Act Definition
Ontario’s definition of bullying under the Education Act, section 1(1), is specific and covers a wide range of behaviours. According to the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario’s analysis of Bill 212, bullying is defined as aggressive and typically repeated behaviour where the behaviour is intended, or the student ought to know it would be likely to have the effect of: causing harm, fear, or distress to another individual (including physical, psychological, social, academic, reputational, or property harm), or creating a negative environment at the school for another individual. The behaviour must occur in a context where there is a real or perceived power imbalance between the student doing the bullying and the individual being harmed.
This definition is broader than the colloquial understanding of bullying. It covers not just physical harm but reputational harm, social exclusion, and the deliberate creation of a negative school environment for another student. It also includes situations where a student ‘ought to know’ their behaviour would cause harm, even if they claim no intention to harm. This removes the ‘I didn’t mean to hurt them’ defence from students engaging in behaviour that a reasonable person would know is harmful.
The Accepting Schools Act (2012)
Bill 13, the Accepting Schools Act, amended the Education Act to explicitly address bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. The Act requires school boards to support students in establishing activities and organizations that promote a positive school climate (commonly known as Gay-Straight Alliances or GSAs). It also explicitly includes discrimination and bullying on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity within the scope of prohibited behaviour under the Education Act.
The Keeping Our Kids Safe at School Act (2010)
Bill 157 made a particularly important change to who is responsible for reporting bullying. Under previous legislation, reporting was primarily the responsibility of teachers and administrators. Bill 157 extended the reporting duty to all school staff who work directly with students, including educational assistants, custodians, and other non-teaching staff. More importantly for parents, it requires principals to notify parents of students who have been harmed when a serious incident occurs.
What Schools Are Required to Do When Bullying Is Reported
Many parents report bullying to their child’s school and are frustrated when the response feels inadequate or slow. Understanding what the law actually requires helps parents advocate more effectively.
- Investigation: Schools are required to investigate bullying reports. The investigation typically involves speaking with the student who reported the bullying, any witnesses, and the student accused of bullying. Schools must document the investigation.
- Principal notification for victims: Under Bill 157, when a student is harmed by another student, the principal must notify the parent or guardian of the harmed student. This notification should describe what happened and what action the school is taking.
- Progressive discipline: For every substantiated bullying incident, the school must consider suspension under Ontario’s progressive discipline framework. Suspension is not automatic: the school considers the severity, frequency, context, and mitigating factors. A first minor bullying incident might result in a restorative conversation and a warning. Repeated or severe bullying can lead to suspension or expulsion.
- Documentation on OSR: Every substantiated incident of bullying must be documented using a Violent Incident Report and placed in the student’s Ontario Student Record (OSR). The ETFO guidance specifies that every substantiated incident of bullying should be raised with the principal and documented.
- Support for both students: Schools are expected to provide support not just to the student who was bullied but also to the student who engaged in bullying, with the goal of changing behaviour rather than simply punishing it.
What Parents Should Do When Their Child Is Being Bullied
The steps below are specifically calibrated for Ontario’s school system and legal framework:
- Document everything before contacting the school: Write down what your child has told you with specific dates, times, locations, and names of other students involved. Save screenshots of any digital or social media bullying. This documentation will serve you at every subsequent step.
- Make a formal written report to the principal, not just a verbal conversation: An email to the principal creates a written record with a timestamp. It also formally triggers the school’s obligation to investigate. A verbal conversation in the hallway does not create the same accountability trail.
- Request written confirmation of the investigation outcome: Ask the principal to confirm in writing what the investigation found and what action was taken. Under Bill 157, the principal is required to notify you if your child has been harmed. If they have not notified you, ask directly for this notification in writing.
- If the school’s response is inadequate, escalate to the school board: Every Ontario school board has a superintendent for student well-being or a similar role responsible for safe schools. If the principal’s response is unsatisfactory, the next step is a written complaint to the board’s superintendent.
- Contact the Ontario Human Rights Commission if bullying involves prohibited grounds: If the bullying involves discrimination based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability, the Ontario Human Rights Commission provides resources and, in serious cases, accepts complaints.
Cyberbullying and Online Behaviour: What Ontario Schools Can Do
Ontario’s bullying definition includes behaviours that happen outside school hours when those behaviours create a negative environment at school for another student. This means cyberbullying through social media or messaging apps that affects a student’s ability to feel safe and comfortable at school falls within the school’s jurisdiction, even if the behaviour happened on a weekend or after school hours.
This is a significant and often misunderstood provision. Many parents believe that cyberbullying that happens off school property is outside the school’s responsibility. In Ontario, it is not, if the impact is felt at school. Schools can and should investigate cyberbullying that is making a student’s school experience negative and unsafe, even when the messages were sent from personal devices outside school hours. The school still must demonstrate that the behaviour had a nexus to the school environment, but this threshold is generally met when the bullying involves school classmates and affects the victim’s participation in school.
How Small Schools Handle Bullying Differently
One of the structural advantages of small school environments is the reduced incidence and earlier detection of bullying. In a school of 150 students where teachers know every student by name, unusual social dynamics are visible much earlier than in a school of 1,500. A student who withdraws from a peer group they were previously part of, who becomes quiet during lunch, or who shows signs of anxiety in class is noticed within days in a small school. In a large school, the same student might go unnoticed for weeks.
At USCA Academy, the 5 to 15 student class size means that teachers and staff have a detailed knowledge of interpersonal dynamics in each group. This structural visibility is not a replacement for a formal anti-bullying policy, but it creates an environment where bullying is harder to sustain undetected and easier to address quickly when it occurs. Our school activities and community life page describes the kind of school community that USCA Academy deliberately fosters.
Families considering a private school in Ontario partly because of bullying concerns at a larger school should ask specifically about the school’s formal anti-bullying policy, how bullying incidents are reported and investigated, and what the school does to foster a positive school climate beyond having a written policy.
Concerned about your child’s school climate? USCA Academy’s small classes and close-knit community make it easier to maintain a positive, safe learning environment where every student is known. Call +1 (905) 232-0411 or visit uscaacademy.com/private-school-mississauga to learn more about USCA Academy’s approach to school community.
Frequently Asked Questions: Anti-Bullying Policy in Ontario Schools
1.Is bullying a criminal offence in Canada?
Bullying as a general behaviour is not specifically defined as a criminal offence under Canada’s Criminal Code. However, specific bullying behaviours can constitute criminal offences: physical assault is assault under the Criminal Code; deliberate property damage is mischief; threats constitute criminal threats; and cyberbullying involving non-consensual distribution of intimate images is a specific Criminal Code offence added in 2015. For severe cases that meet the threshold of a criminal offence, police can be involved alongside school action. School discipline and criminal consequences are not mutually exclusive.
2.What can a parent do if the school does not investigate a bullying report properly?
First, ensure the report was made in writing to the principal. If the investigation outcome is communicated verbally and you feel it is inadequate, request written confirmation of the investigation findings and actions taken. If the school’s response is still unsatisfactory, escalate to the school board’s superintendent for student well-being. If the bullying involves a prohibited ground of discrimination (race, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation), the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal is another avenue. For serious situations, consulting an education law specialist is worth considering. The Ontario Human Rights Commission provides resources for human rights-related bullying situations.
3.Does Ontario’s anti-bullying policy apply to private schools?
Ontario’s Public Schools anti-bullying framework, including the specific requirements under PPM 144 and PPM 145, applies primarily to publicly funded schools. Private schools are not directly governed by these PPMs. However, Ministry-inspected private schools typically develop their own anti-bullying and safe schools policies. Under the Ontario Human Rights Code, all schools (public and private) are prohibited from engaging in or tolerating discrimination based on protected grounds. Private schools also have contractual obligations to students and families that typically include maintaining a safe learning environment. For private school families, the enrollment contract and the school’s published student code of conduct are the primary governance documents for how bullying is handled.
4.At what age does bullying most commonly occur in Ontario schools?
Research consistently shows that bullying peaks in Grades 6 to 8 (approximately ages 11 to 14), the transition years from elementary to secondary school. The social competition and peer hierarchy formation of early adolescence creates the conditions where bullying is most common. Bullying does not disappear in high school but tends to shift in form, with social exclusion, cyberbullying, and reputational harm becoming more prevalent than the physical bullying more common in middle school. For families whose children are entering the Grade 8 to Grade 9 transition, being proactive about school climate and peer dynamics is particularly important. Our guide on the Grade 8 to Grade 9 transition covers the social adjustment challenges of this period.
