Law360 Canada (June 30, 2026, 3:58 PM EDT) -- Public schools in P.E.I. have adopted a new sexual misconduct policy in a bid to better protect students by focusing on prevention, early intervention and a uniform complaints process.

According to a news release, the new policy adopted by the Public Schools Branch (PSB) and La Commission scolaire de langue française (CSLF) “will improve student safety by prioritizing prevention, early intervention and consistent standards for handling complaints in schools across the province.”

The sexual misconduct policy comes not long after the release of a report calling for the creation of such a thing — and not long after a guidance counsellor was found to have sexually assaulted a young student from a town just outside Charlottetown.

The policy’s safety measures include training on both the mandatory duty to report and on detecting signs of sexual misconduct — including acts of grooming and “professional boundary violations.” Another is the establishment of an enhanced tracking system to quickly identify “problematic patterns of behaviour.”

Developed through an amendment to P.E.I.’s Education Act in 2025, the new policy will also create a standardized process for complaints and investigations so that they are applied consistently in all schools.

The new policy, states the news release, came following “extensive consultation” with sector stakeholders, including educators, students, parents, child protection officials, law enforcement, legal experts and the province’s Child and Youth Advocate.

It also comes just months after the release of the Jenkins Report.

In February, former P.E.I. Court of Appeal chief justice David Jenkins delivered his much-anticipated report on student safety, which contained recommendations including stronger background checks, comprehensive staff training, improved reporting protocols, and stronger partnerships with police and child protection services.

And the creation of a new sexual misconduct policy.

Minister of Education and Early Years Robin Croucher commented on the new policy.

“Staff at the education authorities have done an admirable job responding to both the recommendations in the Jenkins Report, and the amendment to the Education Act,” said Croucher in a statement. “I am confident this new policy will have a profoundly positive effect on student safety and will solidify a standard process for handling complaints and enforcing consequences.”

The new policy also comes in the wake of recent headlines after a female guidance counsellor pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a male student under 16. The abuse reportedly happened outside of school, after her counselling of the boy ended at an intermediate school in the town of Cornwall.

Earlier this month, the guidance counsellor, now 42, was sentenced to five years’ prison.

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