Ontario education minister orders review of Kitchener school calling police on 4-year-old
CBC
Ontario's education minister has ordered a review of how the Waterloo Region Catholic District School Board handled a situation where police were called to John Sweeney Catholic Elementary School in Kitchener to deal with a four-year-old student's behaviour.
Police have confirmed officers went to the school on Nov. 29 after receiving a report of a student in crisis who was said to be acting violently.
The child's family is Nigerian. The incident has prompted advocates for Black families to speak out about police being called to a kindergarten classroom.
Police said officers worked to de-escalate the student's behaviour, contacted a family member and drove the child home.
"Under no scenario should police be called to remove a four-year-old student from a school in this province," Minister Stephen Lecce said in a statement to CBC Kitchener-Waterloo on Friday afternoon.
"Black and racialized parents continue to deal with these unacceptable situations that only demoralize and harm their children and families."
Lecce said a third-party representative from the Ministry of Education will do an "objective analysis of the circumstances." The report will recommend actions to the school board "to ensure it never happens again."
"We have to do better," Lecce said.
The report is expected to be completed in the next month, and will be given to the family and the school board.
Fidelia Ukueje, president of Nigerians in the Region of Waterloo, is acting as a spokesperson for the family of the four-year-old because they didn't want to speak to the media.
Ukueje disputes the account by police, and said the child was jumping on a desk and running away from a teacher, but was not being violent.
"The school board has failed a four-year-old by criminalizing a child. Nothing justified what the school board did to that child."
CBC Kitchener-Waterloo reached out to the Waterloo Catholic District School Board for comment about the provincial review. The board did not immediately respond to the request.
Earlier this week, when contacted for comment, the school board would not confirm the incident. In response to questions, the board said it had met with the family on Wednesday, but could not comment on the situation because of privacy legislation.
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