Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario
B E T W E E N:
C.M. by her Next Friend P.M.
Applicant
-and-
York Region District School Board, Greg Farrell and Sharon List
Respondents
- and -
Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario as represented by the Ministry of the Attorney General
Intervenor
INTERIM DECISION
Adjudicator: David A. Wright
Indexed as: C.M. v. York Region District School Board
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS BY
C.M. by her next friend P.M., Applicant ) P.M.
York Region District School Board , ) Brenda Bowlby, Greg Farrell and Sharon List, Respondents ) Counsel
Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario ) Bruce Ellis, Counsel as Represented by the Ministry of ) the Attorney General, Intervenor )
INTRODUCTION
1Head lice, also known as pediculosis, are little flat bugs that live in people’s hair, close to the scalp. They spread by crawling from one person’s head to the other. According to the respondent York District School Board (the “Board”), a number of cases of pediculosis are found in its schools each year, and it has established a procedure pursuant to which a student suspected or identified as having lice has his or her head checked to ensure that all nits (eggs) have been removed prior to being readmitted to class. This Application, filed under s. 34 of the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, as amended (the “Code”), alleges that the Board’s practice is discriminatory on the basis of age and seeks damages, an end to the practice, and other remedies for future compliance.
2The applicant is eleven years old and a student in one of the Board’s schools. As she is a minor and does not have legal capacity, she brings this Application through a next friend, her father. The Application alleges that the applicant was excluded from school after a public health nurse found nits in her hair following treatment for lice. The applicant submits that the exclusion of children based on the presence of nits is unjustified, arguing that nits do not indicate the presence of active lice.
3It is alleged that this procedure discriminates on the basis of age as follows:
As stated in the pediculosis procedure of YRDSB, there is a different treatment of high school students than other students. The procedure says that the principal will assume and expect that secondary school students accept responsibility for their own personal management. This implies that screening for lice will only be done after the disclosure by a high school student who states they had/have a history of lice. By providing this disclosure, the high school student is tacitly providing agreement for subsequent searches.
In the procedure, there are instructions for volunteers on how to screen