Students from more than 30 black families were reportedly placed in a language support program in Ottawa without parental consent.
The Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Ontario (CEPEO), a French-language public school board in Ottawa, has reportedly placed elementary school-aged children in the Actualization Linguistique en Français program, which aims to develop language skills so that students can follow the regular curriculum, The Globe and Mail reported in an article published Thursday.
Families would not have learned about it until two months after the start of the school year, when the first report card was handed out, according to Charline Grant, advocacy manager at Parents of Black Children, one of several organizations advocating for families.
In some cases, parents would have discovered that their child had been enrolled in this program for years.
“Without saying the words, you tell them [aux parents] that you don’t think they are capable of making a decision for their children,” said Ms. Grant.
The defense is calling for an independent investigation into why black students were placed in the program without their parents’ knowledge.
To date, the number of children who have been placed in this program without parental consent remains unclear.
The CEPEO said the program “aims to achieve a level of French language proficiency sufficient to follow the regular school curriculum,” according to a statement emailed to The Globe and Mail.
Further, the board asserted that educators do not need parental permission to enroll children in such a program. However, it has implemented a new communication form with parents in order to provide greater transparency and promote collaboration with them.
A parent, Hassan Ahmed, learned in the fall that his son, who is in grade 6, entered the specialized program in grade 2. Mr. Ahmed, who is fluent in French and has been a teacher in Africa, says he is “angry” about the situation. Her son, placed in the language refresher program, demonstrates great ease in learning the French language. He still does not know today why his son was placed in this program.
“They stole my child’s future,” he lamented, realizing his son had learned an “easy” version of the French language forever.
Some parents remain confused about the reasons that led the school to enroll their children in a support program, since they have never detected learning difficulties in their children before.
Alice Audrain, parent spokesperson for the Parents for Diversity organization in Ottawa, said many black children already feel like they don’t belong in the school setting. “Placing them in a special program will only add to their challenges,” she explained.
Reference-www.journaldemontreal.com