The Rainy River District School Board of Trustees approves Indigenous Student Trustee – Fort Frances Times
13 March 2024
The Rainy River District School Board will be adding a new member to the table next year, with the addition of an Indigenous Student Trustee.
The new position was unanimously approved at the March 5 board meeting.
The RRDSB currently has two student trustees, each with an alternating term of two years. The third Student Trustee will represent the interests of all Indigenous students across the district. According to the RRDSB, roughly 40 per cent of students board-wide voluntarily identify as Indigenous.
The role of Student Trustee in Ontario came into effect in 2007, with the Ministry regulation being updated in 2020 to add a second. While the legislation does not permit Student Trustees to vote or move motions, Student Trustees do participate in meetings of the Board and its committees and have access to the same training opportunities as other board members.
Currently, there are 19 Indigenous Student Trustees across the 72 district school boards in Ontario, including within three of the six Thunder Bay area boards.
Director of Education Heather Campbell noted that the proposal was brought forward to the Student Senate and to the First Nation, Métis, and Inuit Education Advisory Committee in February, with both advisory committees voicing support for the addition of this key student voice at the Board of Trustees’ table.
