Why is Ontario bringing police back into schools?

The Ontario government’s plan to reintroduce police into schools has ignited a storm of resistance across the Greater Toronto Area. On Monday, July 28^th, 2025, Policing-Free Schools Ontario and its supporters held a press conference at Queen’s Park, demanding investment in education, not policing.

The group’s press release framed Bill 33 as “Sweeping legislation, a power grab that ultimately mandates police-in-schools programs, namely the School Resource Officer Program.” For many community members, this bill reflects the government’s push for broader control over school boards, using student safety as the pretext.

Policing-Free Schools Ontario, founded by educator and organizer Andrea Vasquez Jimenez, has long fought to remove police from educational spaces. The organization’s website describes her as deeply involved in struggles to remove police from educational spaces in Toronto, across Turtle Island, and internationally.

Speakers at the press conference reflected a broad coalition of voices:

• Andrea Vasquez Jimenez, Director and Consultant
• Beyhan Farhadi, Assistant Professor of Educational Policy and Equity at OISE, University of Toronto
• Joy Henderson, Afro-Indigenous mother and child and youth worker
• Raheem White, Grade 12 student and student trustee
• Cyrielle Ngeleeka, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students Ontario
• Laura Walton, President of the Ontario Federation of Labour
• Kristyn Wong-Tam, Member of Provincial Parliament, Ontario NDP

Their collective message was clear: schools need more funding for teachers, resources, and student support, not a return to policing. Policing-Free Schools Ontario has laid out 18 ways people can get involved in resisting Bill 33. These include:

• Sign the online petition
• Send an email to representatives
• Make a call
• Share your story
• Endorse as an organization
• Use campaign hashtags
• Donate to the movement
• Join the back-to-school initiative
• Sign petitions to be tabled in the Legislature
• Attend campaign press conferences
• Join teach-ins and rallies
• Fill the public gallery at Queen’s Park
• Participate in province-wide rallies
• Connect with the Ontario campaign network
• Subscribe to the mailing list
• Follow the WhatsApp channel
• Learn more about Bill 33
• Take local action: strategize, organize, mobilize, analyze

The campaign emphasizes collective action, with students, educators, parents, and labour leaders standing together.

On Wednesday, August 27^th, 2025, Policing-Free Schools Ontario will host a major teach-in at Queen’s Park. Speakers from the education sector will lay out the case against policing in schools and call on the public to join the movement.

This campaign isn’t a one-time protest. Advocates argue the issue will shape the upcoming school year and beyond. For students (particularly Black, Indigenous, and racialized youth) the return of police to classrooms represents not safety, but surveillance and harm.

The government insists Bill 33 is about security. Critics counter that safety comes from: smaller class sizes, better mental health supports, and equitable learning environments, not police officers patrolling hallways.

If you want to support the movement for policing-free schools, start by visiting policingfreeschools.ca. You can: sign petitions, join rallies, or simply share the campaign’s message with your network. Every action builds momentum.

Ontario stands at a crossroads: will the province invest in nurturing students, or double down on discipline and control? The answer may set the tone for education policy across Canada.

One thing is certain; the fight for policing-free schools is far from over.