Ontario Human Rights Commission announces its action plan to address anti-Black racism in education Français
TORONTO, March 27, 2025 /CNW/ - The Ontario Human Rights Commission (the "Commission"/ "OHRC") today launches Dreams Delayed: Addressing Systemic Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Ontario's Public Education System, an Action Plan outlining the Commission's strategy to address systemic anti-Black racism and discrimination in Ontario's publicly funded education system.
Developed through extensive consultation with communities, Black students, and people in the education system, the Action Plan identifies 29 calls to action, with targeted timelines for implementation by duty-holders, including the Ministry of Education, school boards, trustees, unions, and all education professionals. To meet their legal obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code), education duty-holders must work to improve outcomes for Black students and Black educators so that they can learn and teach in school environments free from discrimination and harassment.
The key themes of the Action Plan are accountability, transparency, students' well-being, and monitoring and evaluation:
Accountability is essential to ensure equality and non-discrimination for Black students.
Transparency is to ensure that the public can see if and how duty-holders are upholding their human rights obligations and to increase the public's awareness.
Students' well-being is central for ensuring that Black students feel safe, supported, and empowered in a learning environment where they can thrive emotionally, academically, and socially.
Monitoring and evaluation are vital to measure progress, consistency of the education system's performance, and outcomes. Essentially, the Commission is calling for duty-holders to collect and analyze data to identify and address systemic barriers.
"Bold, systemic action is essential to address anti-Black racism and discrimination in education. Black students must be actively supported and empowered to thrive. This Action Plan is a blueprint for change. It places human rights at the core and outlines clear actions for education duty-holders to create learning environments where Black students can flourish and reach their full potential. The OHRC will continue to demand pragmatic leadership, including accountability, and an unwavering commitment to dismantling the barriers that have long denied Black students their right to education success", said Patricia DeGuire, Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
The release of this Action Plan is an important milestone in the OHRC's commitment to hold all duty-holders accountable for their legal obligations under the Code. The OHRC will continue to work with all parties to improve opportunities and outcomes for Black students disproportionately affected by discrimination in Ontario. Visit ohrc.on.ca to learn more.
Quick Facts
- On March 28, 2023, the OHRC announced an initiative to address anti-Black racism and discrimination in the publicly funded education system (English public, English Catholic, French public, and French Catholic) in support of these longstanding calls.
- The OHRC held roundtable discussions in April 2023 with Black Anglophone and Francophone students and duty-holders in the education sector to hear directly from them on solutions to address anti-Black racism in education. Following the roundtable discussions, the OHRC released the What We Heard Report.
- The OHRC also published a Compendium of Recommendations comprised of 83 reports spanning seven decades (1948 to 2023) that collectively demonstrate the existence and impact of anti-Black racism in education on students, families, and communities.
- In addition to the roundtable discussions, the OHRC consulted with community organizations, students, education workers, the Ministry of Education, an Anti-Black Racism in Education Advisory Group, key informants, and written submissions.
- This Action Plan builds on preceding and existing anti-Black racism and discrimination initiatives, including ones led by community organizations, advocates, unions, and the Ministry of Education, to address discrimination in education.
Action Plan
Read the Executive Summary or the full Action Plan
The following reports contributed to the development of the Action Plan:
Learn more
Backgrounder: Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Education Action Plan
The Dreams Delayed: Addressing Systemic Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Ontario's Public Education System Action Plan ("Action Plan") outlines the Ontario Human Rights Commission's (the "Commission"/ "OHRC") strategy to address systemic anti-Black racism and discrimination in Ontario's education system. Developed with input from Black students, Black educators and administrators, and members of Black communities across Ontario, the Action Plan identifies challenges, strengths, opportunities, and priorities addressing discrimination and harassment for Black students, families, communities, and education service providers.
This Action Plan sets out a blueprint for change — a roadmap that places human rights at the core. Grounded in the legal framework of the Ontario Human Rights Code, it sets out actions that must guide education duty-holders to create learning environments where Black students can learn and reach their full potential. Our collective aim should be to recognize the dignity and worth of every person, providing equal rights and opportunities without discrimination.
Summary of Actions:
This Action Plan includes key themes for immediate and intermediate actions.
Accountability
Accountability is essential to ensure equality and non-discrimination for Black students in Ontario's publicly funded education system. It is essential that duty-holders shift from process-focused to outcome-focused accountability with committed leadership and systemic support for anti-Black racism initiatives.
Transparency
Transparency ensures that the public can see if and how the Ministry of Education, school boards, administrators, teachers, unions, and faculties of education are upholding human rights obligations. It also increases the public's awareness and understanding of existing information and mechanisms to confront anti-Black racism and discrimination.
Key actions include:
- Making a formal, public acknowledgement of anti-Black racism and discrimination in education, along with a strategy to clearly communicate the acknowledgment.
- Developing a provincial Framework to address human rights, including anti-Black racism and discrimination, and the Ministry of Education developing a communications strategy for the accountability Framework.
- Centralizing the collection of data on student achievement and well-being disaggregated by grounds, including race, under the Human Rights Code.
Students' Well-Being
Students' well-being is a cornerstone of a successful education system. It is essential for fostering achievement and success in line with students' interests, abilities, and aspirations. Discriminatory practices which limit these factors have a negative impact on their well-being. Systemic change must focus on transforming the education system to be more supportive Black students, rather than expecting them to adapt to a discriminatory environment.
Key actions include:
- The Ministry of Education monitoring and expanding the Graduation Coach Program for Black Students.
- Education Duty-Holders expanding the student and family advocates system navigator program.
- School Boards creating inclusive guidance counselling for student transitional stages.
- School Boards creating affirmative education spaces for Black students.
Monitoring and Evaluation
To ensure accountability, transparency, monitoring, and evaluation in education must focus on achieving outcomes and progress in addressing anti-Black racism and discrimination. Effective monitoring requires collecting and analyzing data to understand and address systemic barriers. Consistent monitoring ensures transparency, accountability, and the ability to evaluate system performance on human rights issues, including well-being and student experiences.
NEXT STEPS
The OHRC will use this Action Plan as a roadmap for a long-term, province-wide process to hold all duty-holders accountable for eliminating anti-Black racism and discrimination in the province's education system. The OHRC will:
- Develop a strategy to monitor the implementation of this Action Plan and publish periodic updates on the implementation.
- Work with duty-holders and rights-holders on the implementation of the calls to action to improve outcomes for Black students and educators.
- Continue to engage with the Ministry of Education, faculties of education and the Ontario College of Teachers on the implementation of the actions they must take and will report publicly on outcomes.
Additional resources
News Release: Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Education Action Plan Launch
What We Heard Report Online
Compendium of Recommendations Online
List of Mental Health Supports
SOURCE Ontario Human Rights Commission
Media contact: Nick Lombardi, Senior Strategic Communications Advisor, Ontario Human Rights Commission, Email: [email protected]
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