A student walkout being promoted for the morning of Wednesday, June 4 has received a significant amount of media attention. While the district respects the desire of students to express their views regarding the current labour situation, the proposed walkout raises a few concerns, particularly with regard to student safety and loss of instructional time.

Any walkout by students during school time is considered to be an unsanctioned activity. As such, the Ministry of Education has advised all school districts that:

• While districts are responsible for the safety of students on school property, student safety cannot be guaranteed for students participating in walkout activities outside of school property even if those activities take place during school hours.
• Parents should not expect those activities to be supervised by school or district staff.  
• Students are encouraged to not participate in the walkout, both to ensure their own safety and to avoid adding further to the disruptions to their regular instructional time during this already difficult labour dispute. Should a student choose to take part in this walkout, he or she will be marked absent for the time away from class.

We fully respect the voice of students and their legitimate right to share their concerns, but it is our responsibility to ensure that parents and students are aware of the risks and to minimize disruptions as much as possible to the regular school experience.

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