Cherchez-vous de l’information sur la santé mentale à l’école en français?
Mental health plays a big role in students’ ability to learn, grow, and feel safe at school. In Quebec, schools have legal responsibilities to support students’ well-being. Whether you’re a student, parent, or school staff member, it’s important to understand what help is available, and what the law requires.
Plan to prevent and stop bullying and violence
All public and private preschools, elementary schools, and high schools must take action to prevent bullying and violence.
For Quebec schools, the law defines bullying as including these elements:
- repeated actions or words,
- behaviour that excludes or hurts the victim and makes them feel powerless,
- a power imbalance between the person who bullies and the victim.
Behaviour that includes all these elements is bullying, even if the person who bullies does not intend to cause harm.
For Quebec schools, the law defines violence as the use of force against someone. Unlike bullying, violence is always intentional. It can be:
- verbal or written,
- physical,
- psychological,
- sexual.
Violence can be used against people or their property.
The law requires every school to have a plan that includes steps to prevent and stop bullying and violence towards a student, a teacher, or any other school staff member. This plan also applies to cyberbullying.
The plan must include things like :
- steps to prevent bullying,
- a procedure for reporting cases of bullying,
- measures to make sure complaints remain confidential,
- the action to be taken against bullies when bullying is reported by a student, teacher, friend, etc.
- ways to support victims or witnesses of bullying or violence,
- and more!
Students being bullied can talk to their parents, friends, teachers, and school support staff. Once school employees are aware of a situation, they have a duty to help and to put the plan into practice to stop bullying.
When bullying or violence is reported, the school must let the parents know.
For more information on bullying, check out our web guide:
Bullying and the Law: What You Need to Know
You’ll find lots of helpful articles and resources in the web guide:
- An article on Bullying and Violence in Quebec Schools,
- An article on Cyberbullying,
- A pamphlet for school personnel and community workers: Bullying and the Law: Ways to Intervene,
- An infographic on bullying: Young People and Bullying: Potential Legal Consequences.
For more information on cyberbullying, check out our poster:
Cyberbullying… it can be a crime!
Support services and counselling services
All public preschools, elementary schools, and high schools must offer support services that create a positive learning environment, and counselling services. Although private schools aren’t legally required to offer these services, many still do!
If you or someone you know is struggling with school, focus, emotions, or stress, ask a trusted adult at school to see what services are available.
Examples of services include:
- School psychologists and guidance counsellors,
- Speech therapy,
- Health and social services (ex. nurse, social worker).
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Duty to report situations to the Director of Youth Protection (DYP) The Director of Youth Protection (DYP) is the Quebec organization that gets involved if a child’s safety or development is in danger. The Role of the Director of Youth Protection (DYP) How to report a situation to the DYP (Director of Youth Protection) |
Accommodation for a disability
All public and private preschools, elementary schools, and high schools must accommodate students with a physical or mental disability so that they have an equal chance to do well.
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What’s a disability under the law? A disability is a condition, either permanent or temporary, that makes things more challenging for a student (like paying attention for a long time or communicating with others). |
Schools must propose reasonable accommodations that are not too difficult or expensive to put in place. For example :
- more time to write an exam,
- specific learning tools tailored to a student’s needs.
For more information on reasonable accommodations, check out the Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission’s website: Reasonable accommodation | CDPDJ.
Other resources
For Youth
Kids Help Phone – telephone and online support for kids and teens
Tel-jeunes – telephone and online support for youth and parents
Need Help Now – support and advice for teens to stop the spread of sexual pictures or videos
Cybertip.ca – advice for youth on internet safety and reporting online sexual abuse of children
Bullying: How to recognize it and how to respond
For parents
Tel-jeunes Parents – telephone and online support for parents (french only).
File a complaint if you are dissatisfied with a school service Gouvernement du Québec.