Area principals have leeway on suitable Halloween garb
French board bans costumes that could be seen as racist, sexist or non-inclusive
A French school board in Ontario, which includes three Windsor schools, has issued a Halloween costume checklist for parents to ensure their children on the special day are not attired in anything that many be offensive, or considered an ethnic or racist stereotype.
The guidelines were emailed to parents last week by Conseil scolaire Viamonde, according to a story Wednesday by the Globe and Mail. The French public school board, which stretches from Windsor to the Greater Toronto Area, has two elementary schools and one high school in the local area.
Claire Francoeur, a spokeswoman for the board, did not return a message Wednesday from the Star.
But she told the Globe the board’s desire for Halloween celebrations was to be “really inclusive.”
“It is important to be respectful each and every day of the year, not just 364 days and giving up our duty of being respectful on Halloween,” Francoeur said.
The board’s checklist indicated there should be no terrorist-themed costumes, mocking of transgendered people or outfits that included turban or feather headdress. No costumes should include replica weapons.
At the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, it is left to the discretion of each school principal — among the board’s eight high schools and 35 elementary schools — how to dictate Halloween costumes, said spokesman Steve Fields.
“Every school does it their own way,” he said. “Some do a costume day, while others do a black and orange day.
“Appropriate costumes are at the discretion of principals. When something is deemed offensive, the student might be asked to go home and change clothes.”
A uniform policy within area Catholic high schools helps make it easier for principals to enforce the rules, Fields said.
“(Costumes) would fall under the jurisdiction of the policy,” he said. “Principals would use their discretion on whether a student needs to be addressed and the policy enforced with any type of discipline actions.”
The Greater Essex County District School Board has never been involved in dictating what constitutes an appropriate Halloween costume at its 55 elementary schools and 15 high schools, said spokesman Scott Scantlebury.
“Schools have the autonomy to determine what they are going to do in terms of celebrations, including Halloween,” he said. “The emphasis is always on safety and equity — both social/cultural and economic. Safety is always more a concern with masks or replica weapons.
“The emphasis is not to distract from the instructional day. But we have done nothing specific as the French board has in this case.”
When a student’s costume is determined to be inappropriate, the school principal will intervene, Scantlebury said.
“There is often some political satire — I imagine this year there will be a lot of Donald Trumps. At the high school level, you also have some trying to be shocking.
“There is a philosophy in our schools of good taste and not going too far. A principal will determine what’s appropriate and what to do about it.”