Canadian School Board Set to Formulate Strategy to Combat Islamophobia
"We have heard directly from our communities and have the data to show that Islamophobia continues to impact our students and staff on a regular basis," TDSB Chair Rachel Chernos Lin said in a statement about the vote.
"By taking a focused approach to confronting Islamophobia, we enable more members of our school communities to feel safe and welcome at school and work," she added.
School board staff will now prepare a report on the development and implementation of the strategy that will be presented to trustees in the fall.
The board says the work will build on its broader Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Strategy, which it says "addresses all forms of racism, hate and discrimination."
The motion calling for the plan said that internal data shows that Islamophobia is the second-most reported form of "creed-based hate" within the TDSB network.
The motion specifically calls for the impending report to include accountability measures and suggestions for meaningful engagement with the TDSB community on the strategy.
"Many Trustees, parents, students, community organizations and advocates have raised concerns around incidents of Islamophobia. These incidents have a significant impact on students and their families in the TDSB requiring a more tailored action plan to help support them," said Neethan Shan, TDSB vice chair, in the news release.
In January, the Peel District School Board became the first in Canada to adopt its own strategy to combat Islamophobia and affirm the identity of Muslim students, who comprise about one quarter of that board's student population.
Source: cbc.ca
