HomeMy WebLinkAboutP 030 CUR - Learning Resources
POLICY P 030 CUR
TITLE: LEARNING RESOURCES
Date Authorized: February 1999
Last Revised: 29 April 2025
Last Reviewed: 29 April 2025
COMMITMENT TO INDIGENOUS RIGHTS, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND EQUITY
The Board recognizes its responsibility to ensure that OCDSB policies and procedures promote and
protect Indigenous, equity, and human rights and to seek to address and eliminate racism and
structural and systemic barriers for students, staff, and community.
1.0 RATIONALE
To ensure Learning Resources support and enrich the educational programs of schools while
upholding the principles of the Ontario Human Rights Code.
2.0 DEFINITIONS
Please refer to Appendix A for a list of definitions used in this policy.
3.0 GUIDING PRINCIPLES
3.1 Learning Resources shall be selected to:
a) support and enhance the implementation of the Ontario curriculum and align with
learning expectations, while enriching and extending the learning opportunities
for all students;
b) emphasize Canadian content and appreciation for Canadian work where
appropriate;
c) align with the OCDSB policies and procedures and strategic objectives;
d) be accessible to all learners and comply with the expectations of the Accessibility
for Ontarians with Disability Act and/or be available in multiple formats which
support learner variability and entry points for student learning;
e) be consistent with current scholarship and knowledge or be presented in an
appropriate historical or cultural context;
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f) foster critical thinking and awareness, tolerance, and understanding of different
lived experiences;
g) represent Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing, and present Canada’s
evolving history through an Indigenous lens, free from elements that enable the
exclusion of Indigenous peoples;
h) embed the principles of culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy, considering
the varied interests, abilities, learning styles, and maturity levels of students; and
i) challenge stereotypes and bias.
4.0 SPECIFIC DIRECTIVES
4.1 When selecting Learning Resources, educators shall primarily use the Ministry of
Education Trillium List. Resources included therein are assumed to have been approved
by the District provided they meet the district’s privacy and security requirements.
4.2 Where a school wishes to introduce a Learning Resource that is not listed in the
Ministry of Education Trillium List, the school,
a) shall select learning resources that fully or significantly align with the guiding
principles above;
b) may consult with community partners, elders or knowledge keepers, cultural
advisors, and/or central staff, where appropriate; and
c) shall get the District’s approval for all textbooks not listed in Trillium following the
associated procedure.
4.3 Resources addressing sensitive or complex topics should be used with careful
consideration of the following factors:
a) the degree to which they facilitate critical analysis of the perspective (bias)
presented;
b) the inclusion of alternative narratives and diverse perspectives; and
c) the degree to which they are framed within appropriate historical and
age-appropriate contexts.
4.4 All Learning Resources shall be annually reviewed to ensure compliance with the
curriculum and the selection criteria.
4.5 Recognizing that disagreement may arise regarding a particular learning resource the
procedure shall outline the multi-stage informal and formal methods for schools to use
when a learning resource is challenged, including an appeal to a committee comprising
a multidisciplinary review panel and the Director or designate, to resolve disputes not
settled at the school level. Appeals shall be grounded in the principles of procedural
fairness.
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4.6 The Director of Education is authorized to issue such procedures as may be necessary
to implement this policy.
5.0 APPENDICES
Appendix A: Policy Definitions
6.0 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS
Education Act, 1998, §170, (13); 171, (1) para. 14
Reg. 298, Operations of Schools - General § 7
Ministry of Education Trillium List: Textbooks
OCDSB Policy P 031 CUR - Learning Resources
OCDSB Procedure PR 520 CUR - Learning Resources
OCDSB Procedure PR 519 CUR - Learning Media Requiring Approval
OCDSB Policy P 074 IT - Information Technology Security
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APPENDIX A: POLICY DEFINITIONS
In this policy,
Board means the Board of Trustees.
District means the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.
Learning Resources means:
a) textbooks, which refer to resources designed to support a substantial portion of the
Ontario curriculum expectations for a specific grade and subject in elementary school or
for a course in secondary school, or a substantial portion of the expectations for a
learning area in the Ontario Kindergarten program;
b) supplementary materials are those that support only a limited number of curriculum
expectations, or the curriculum expectations in a single strand, outlined in the
curriculum policy document for a specific subject or course, or a limited number of
expectations for a Kindergarten learning area, and include materials such as print,
digital applications and resources, games, audio, visual, or electronic information used
for formal or informal instructional purposes;
c) library resources, which refer to a wide range of materials, both physical and digital, that
are housed within the school library;
d) persons who can contribute their knowledge and experience in the instructional
process, including guests who make presentations in the school, elders and knowledge
keepers, agencies and organizations; and
e) field trips, excursions, educational tours, and student exchanges.
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