Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce says the government has changed its position on higher class sizes and mandatory e-learning for students.
During an announcement at Queen’s Park yesterday, Lecce said the government is proposing an average of 23 students in high school classes in the 2020-2021 school year.
The government’s initial position saw an average class size of 28 students.
Lecce also said students can now opt out of the e-learning courses- a change from the previous position of requiring students to take two classes online.
However, the unions say the concessions don’t go far enough and strike plans are still moving ahead.
Thousands of students will be locked out of the classroom tomorrow (thurs) as some secondary school, all english catholic school and french-language school teachers (AEFO) conduct their latest walkout.
There are no walkouts planned by the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario for this week, but the union has threatened escalated strike action if no deal is reached by Friday.
The provincial branch of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) announced their intent to proceed with a rotating one-day walkout in a number of school boards across Ontario on Thursday, March 5.
The Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) and the Trillium Lakelands School Board have been identified as two of the boards that will be affected.
Should a tentative agreement not be reached, all SCDSB secondary schools and adult learning centres will be closed to students on Thursday, as there would not be sufficient supervision to ensure student safety. As a result, transportation for secondary school students will be cancelled.
Please note that all SCDSB elementary schools will remain open to students on March 5.
All Grade 7 and 8 students at Elmvale District High School and Stayner Collegiate Institute will report to school for classes as usual. Buses will run as per their regular schedule for all elementary school students.
All schools in the Simcoe-Muskoka Catholic District School Board will also be closed tomorrow, March 5th.
Also impacted by Thursday's job actions are the Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board and Saint-Dominque-Savio School in Owen Sound, which will be closed.
