Dear PIAC members, TDSB leadership, and Minister of Education:
Toronto Palestinian Families (TPF) writes to express our strong support for the motion being brought forward by the Toronto District School Board’s Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC). This motion would extend the TDSB Board’s June 2025 “Advancing Promotion of Human Rights and Positive Human Rights Obligations” motion – which addressed anti‑Palestinian racism (APR) within the Board – to include school councils.
This motion is not only timely – it is urgent.
The cancellation of last week’s APR workshop is not an isolated incident
On June 11, 2026, an educational session on anti‑Palestinian racism was cancelled by the TDSB just one day before it was scheduled to take place. The Board bowed to expressed concerns that discussion of Palestinian identity and racism was “divisive” and would carry a “negative impact on school climate.” It needs to be asserted that such assumptions are themselves traits of anti-Palestinian racism, whereby Palestine and Palestinians are treated as inherently suspect or controversial. Adding still further harm, the APR session was itself to be held at the Ursula Franklin Academy’s building – a site where, last June, school administrators had placed stickers over yearbook photos of students wearing kuffiyehs due to the assumed harm a symbol of Palestine might cause.
This cancellation is not isolated but part of a troubling pattern of silencing and erasure. The Board has repeatedly acted impulsively and without due investigation when it comes to the presence of Palestinian symbols or cultural attire. In his Ministry-ordered report on the incident during the 2024 Grassy Narrows River Run Rally, Patrick Case noted: “Board leadership – elected and administrative – did not exercise enough care nor take responsibility to verify facts before responding to concerns related to the event.” Nearly two years later, the TDSB has once again responded to fearmongering, repeating the erasure of Palestinians.
This incident reflects a system‑wide discomfort with Palestinian identity – a discomfort that plays out not only in classrooms but also in school council meetings, where parents and caregivers come together to support student achievement. Without clear guidance, shared training, and consistent accountability, school councils become spaces where anti‑Palestinian racism is quietly tolerated and reproduced.
Our community is speaking – loudly
While TPF was not the organizer of the cancelled workshop, we supported our community with a letter‑writing tool. In just a couple of days, over 1500 letters were sent to TDSB leadership demanding action against anti‑Palestinian racism.
Those 1,500-plus letters represent parents, caregivers, students, and allies who are exhausted by erasure and demanding change. They are a direct measure of the deep, unmet need for systemic education on APR – education that starts with the adults who shape school environments, including school council members.
We urge PIAC to pass this motion and we urge the TDSB and Ministry not to cancel the meeting. Democratic bodies cannot function if meetings are cancelled whenever a group opposes the issue being discussed or fears the outcome of a vote.
The motion addresses the key gaps:
● Providing learning resources for school council members on
APR, antisemitism, and facilitating respectful and inclusive
dialogue and difficult issues.
● Clear, transparent criteria for external programs and partners
that include APR.
● Distinct tracking and public reporting of APR‑related
incidents, so that data can guide informed decision making.
These are modest, practical, and long‑overdue steps. They carry no financial impact. The motion supports PIAC’s own Strategic Plan with the stated goal to “provide training, resources, and support to empower school councils in their advocacy efforts and parent engagement activities.”
They would send a clear message that the TDSB is serious about combating anti‑Palestinian racism – not just in policy documents, but in the real spaces where parents and caregivers meet.
Vote yes tomorrow
The June 2025 trustee motion was an important first step. But it will remain incomplete if school councils are left out. Tomorrow, PIAC has an opportunity to close that gap and to stand with Palestinian students, families, and allies who have waited far too long for the Board to act.
TPF respectfully urges every PIAC member to vote yes on this motion.
In solidarity,
Toronto Palestinian Families (TPF)
Toronto Palestinian Families 