September 18th, 2018

NDP open letter to minister of education: Stop delaying school curriculum consultations

Official Opposition education critic, Marit Stiles, sent the following open letter to Ontario Minister of Education Lisa Thompson. Stiles wants answers on Ontario’s school curriculum consultations and said the Ford government’s continued delay means students will be learning from an outdated Health and Physical Education curriculum that denies them crucial information.

Hon. Lisa Thompson
Minister of Education
Mowat Block, 22nd Flr
900 Bay St
Toronto, ON M7A 1L2

September 18, 2018

Minister Thompson,

First of all, allow me to congratulate you on your appointment to cabinet as Minister of Education, one of the most important posts in Ontario’s government. As Official Opposition Critic for Education, I look forward to working with you to ensure that our public education system is strengthened and that the well-being of Ontario’s students is made a priority.

With that in mind, I write you today to request further information on your ministry’s promised consultation on Ontario’s curriculum.

The August 22 announcement from the Premier’s Office stated that the consultation would include “an online survey, telephone town halls in every region of Ontario, and a submission platform that will allow interested individuals and groups to present detailed proposals to the Ministry.” That followed the premier’s promise that your government would “sit down” with parents in all 124 ridings.

The lack of clarity around these changes has left parents across Ontario in the dark about exactly what curriculum their children will be taught this year, and how they can have a say in any changes the government is planning.

Given that the school year has already begun, and that we are now 18 days into the month of September, I am asking you to provide details of the consultation, including:

  • The detailed scope of the consultation
  • When it will begin
  • If there will be in-person consultations in each riding
  • What format the submission platform will take
  • How Ontario’s parents, students and educators will be involved
  • How parents will be notified of public consultations in their community
  • How the results of the consultation will be analyzed
  • What experts and education professionals will be consulted

The longer this curriculum consultation is delayed, the longer your government is forcing students to learn from a decades-old Health and Physical Education curriculum that keeps crucial information from them, including information about consent, bullying, gender and LGBTQ identities, and online safety.

Recognizing the urgency, I look forward to your timely response with details about the consultation.

Thank you,

(Original signed)
Marit Stiles
MPP for Davenport
Official Opposition Critic for Education