School Boards Flip-Flop  

on Report Cards

As part of ETFO’s work-to-rule action, teachers 
provided year-end report card grades in print 
form without comments to their principals. It 
was left to district school board administrators to 
input these marks electronically and issue report 
cards to students.

A public outcry ensued when Toronto, York 
Region, Peel and several other district school 
boards announced that they would send a pass/
fail form letter instead of a report card to parents. 
In media relations and advertisements, ETFO 
made it clear that teachers had fulfilled their 

responsibilities by submitting grades and that 
it was the school principal’s legal responsibility 
to distribute student marks. ETFO ads appeared 
in Toronto, York Region, Peel, Ottawa-Carleton, 
Thames Valley and Waterloo Region.

ETFO won a major public relations coup when 
district school boards reversed their position and 
announced they would provide report card marks. 

ETFO and Affiliates Target 

Liberals, OPSBA

Faced with similar contract strips and intransi-
gence at the bargaining table, other education 
affiliates and ETFO worked to put public pres-
sure on the Liberal government and OPSBA. On 
May 14, ETFO local leaders left Representative 
Council to join a mass rally organized by the 
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation 
(OSSTF) at Queen’s Park, which was also attend-
ed by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers 
Association (OECTA) and the Canadian Union of 
Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario.

On June 6, ETFO and affiliates held a mass rally at 
the Ontario Liberal Party’s annual general meet-
ing. Busloads of ETFO members poured into Blue 

Photo: Anne de Haas

ELEMENTARY TEACHERS’ FEDERATION OF ONTARIO

REPORT TO THE 2015 ANNUAL MEETING

Advancing and Protecting Our Union, Our Values and Our Profession

12

 

TEACHERS  

ARE DOING 

THEIR JOBS.

Dear parents of public elementary students:

We understand that you want to know about your child’s grades  
this year.  

Public elementary teachers have fully assessed your child’s progress  
and are completing final marks in all subject areas and learning skills.  
These marks are being handed in to the principal for final review.  

Teachers are unable to provide this information to you since the  
ultimate legal responsibility for the distribution of students’ marks  
rests with the school principal.  You are entitled to know the results  
of your child’s progress but it must come from your principal. 

School boards have known for more than a month about how our legal 
work-to-rule strike action would affect the formal reporting process. 
They’ve had lots of time to plan for issuing final report cards.

To their credit, many school boards are doing their jobs.

Some aren’t.

School boards in Toronto, Peel and York Region are refusing to issue  
students’ final marks, depriving parents of information they deserve. 
These boards may be larger, but they have proportionately as many  
administrators to handle the task of issuing report cards.

What can you do if your child’s school board sends you a “pass/fail” 
form letter instead of a final report card?

• Call the school’s principal and ask for a copy of your child’s  

final marks.

• Ask your trustee this question:  Other school boards in Ontario  

are able to issue final report cards this year; why can’t my child’s 
school board?

A MESSAGE FROM THE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS’  

FEDERATION OF ONTARIO

buildingbetterschools.ca

Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario

Fédération des enseignantes et des enseignants
de l’élémentaire de l’Ontario