At the September 30, 2025, Regular Board Meeting, a member of the public presented a delegation criticizing the York Catholic District School Board’s (YCDSB) approach to forming advisory committees to guide the work of an upcoming student equity audit. As a democratic institution, the Board of Trustees has a duty to hear from members of our community. However, the comments made in the delegation offended many who heard them.
It is clear from this incident that the YCDSB has more work to do on sharing with our community the difficulties that some of our students face. In previous student censuses, data showed us that Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+ students, and students with disabilities face challenges with academic outcomes, school attendance, disciplinary events, and feeling safe, welcomed, and valued at school.
For this reason, earlier this year, the YCDSB contracted a third-party organization to conduct a student equity audit to identify how we can better serve students from communities that are struggling with school outcomes. Staff will be presenting the most recent student census results at the October Regular Board Meeting, which is happening on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. We encourage everyone in the YCDSB community to watch that presentation.
After the delegation, Board Chair Elizabeth Crowe and Director of Education John De Faveri made statements that these views do not represent the YCDSB and that the school board remains committed to equity. The YCDSB is sorry for any harm that was caused by this incident.
If you need assistance as a result of this incident, we encourage you to reach out to your school’s principal who can connect you with resources.