CMEDIA: The Province of British Columbia (B.C.) reportedly has enacted access zones around schools K-12 students and staff to protect them from harassing protesters.
Realizing that every kid and teacher in the B.C. has the right to go to school without being disrupted by aggressive or hateful protests or being intimidated, David Eby B.C.’s premier said the government is establishing no-go zones for protestors to ensure schools remain safe spaces from all the illegal activities of protestors.
According to the legislation passed on May 16, 2024, the Safe Access to Schools Act gives the Province the legal authority to prohibit people from being prohibited from interfering with safe access to school grounds including behaviour such as yelling which disrupts school programs and activities or holding signs with slogans that cause concern for the safety of students and staff.
Disruptive protests have targeted 20 school sites since the start of the school year. To better protect everyone in schools and help keep the focus on learning, use of access zones has been sought by the government as a tool to legally prevent harassment of kids and staff within specified hours and spaces around learning environments.
Rachna Singh, Minister of Education and Child Care said that ensuring every child’s learning environment to be a safe and inclusive one as a top priority with access to education without fear or intimidation.
With access zones in place at K-12 schools will be in effect on school days from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. and during extracurricular school activities at all of B.C.’s K-12 public and independent schools, with limited exceptions.
These access zones would allow police to arrest or issue tickets to anyone found impeding access, disrupting or interfering with educational activities, or attempting to intimidate an individual within 20 metres (66 feet) of school property.
This law of the health, safety and well-being of kids and those teaching and coaching extracurricular school activities at school as a top priority for the B.C. government is supported by many of B.C.’s education partners, such as the BC School Trustees Association, the BC Teachers Federation, the BC Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils and CUPE BC, among others.
Being part of the Province’s commitment to keeping people safe, this law includes other actions taken by the provincial government to protect youth from online threats and restrict cell phone use in schools.
