Some examples of cases (details are anonymized to protect the confidentiality of complainants): The most common topics of complaints were student safety and security, special education, school and board staff, and busing. The Ombudsman’s office seeks to resolve issues at the local level wherever possible, and recommends all school boards have clear internal complaint procedures.
“When we help fix a problem for one person, but also ensure others don’t encounter it in the future, that’s what an Ombudsman office does best,” he said.Ībout one-third of cases were resolved by Ombudsman staff providing simple referrals or information to the appropriate school or board officials.
However, interventions and inquiries by Ombudsman staff resulted in numerous constructive changes to school board processes, for the benefit of many stakeholders, Mr. Most school board complaints – about 85% – have been resolved and closed, and no formal investigations have been launched to date. The Ombudsman’s jurisdiction over the province’s 82 school boards and school authorities came into effect on September 1, 2015, after the passage of Bill 8, the Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, in December 2014. ‘‘We have been able to help hundreds of people by referring them to the right officials at the local level, or by having our staff make informal inquiries with the boards in question.’’ ‘‘I’m happy to report that so far, we have received excellent co-operation from most boards, which has allowed us to resolve many difficult issues without formal investigation,’’ said Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé. (TORONTO – September 6, 2016) - As the new school year begins, the Office of the Ontario Ombudsman is marking one year of oversight of school boards, after receiving 701 complaints and inquiries in the first year of its new mandate.
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