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State Farm branded policies are underwritten by Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Company. ®State Farm and related trademarks and logos are registered trademarks owned by State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, used under licence by Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Company.1401845 CN.1 Insuring your life helps protect th future. It can also provide for today. I'll show you how a life insurance policy with living benefits can help your family with both long-term and short-term needs. We put the life back in life insurance.™ CALL ME TODAY. ct their e for tLora Greene, Agent211 Guelph Street Georgetown, ON L7G 5B5 Bus: 905-873-1615 lora@loragreene.ca NEWS Labour relations, sex ed. among issues to greet new school year The start of a new school year is always hec- tic for all involved -- students, teachers, staff and parents -- but 2015-16 has addi- tional weighty issues to be considered and resolved. In Halton, the public school board bar- gaining team has local meetings arranged with Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) representatives on Sept. 22 and 28. ETFO in Halton represents close to 2,900 teachers, serving almost 40,000 pupils. ETFO has been in a legal strike position since May, 2015. Meanwhile, work-to-rule sanctions con- tinue with ETFO and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). ETFO says that it will begin rotating, one- day strikes in October unless the govern- ment and school boards return to the bar- gaining table and progress is made. Starting Monday, Sept. 21, teachers have upped their current work-to-rule campaign: • fill in for an absent teacher or take on additional students if a class needs to be re- organized • take on other duties during regularly scheduled preparation times including be- ing reassigned to teach in another class • update classroom websites/blogs, com- plete or distribute class newsletters • take part in any activities beyond the classroom (e.g., extra-curriculars) on Wednesdays. Actions on these days will also include ETFO members demonstrating union solidarity by wearing symbolic items (e.g., buttons). Members may also engage in planned lobbying activities including infor- mation pickets and local rallies. This in addition to its phase two work-to- rule efforts: • plan, organize or participate in field trips • plan, organize or participate in fund- raising activities • collect monies or distribute to students any paperwork required by the school or school board • attend open houses or 'Meet the Teach- er' nights outside of the instructional day The Halton public board also has more separate local contract meetings arranged with representatives of its occasional teach- ers, early childhood educators, teaching as- sistants, office staff, educational assistants, custodians and its professional care workers (social workers, child care, personal support workers). Two teachers' groups that recently agreed to tentative contracts with the prov- ince earlier at the central bargaining table had ratification votes this week. The Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA), which represents 50,000 elementary and secondary school teachers in Ontario, has been in a legal strike position since Aug. 17. Its members ratifiied the deal on Sept. 17 on what has been re- ported to be a three-year deal. OSSTF teachers held their contract rati- fication vote over two days, Sept. 16-17, and ratified the central agreement with the Prov- ince. In August, HDSB reached a tentative agreement with the local union. The OSSTF represents 1,300 permanent full- and part-time high school teachers at the Halton District School Board. Ontario's 10,000 French-language el- ementary and high school teachers union agreed to a tentative contract on Sept. 16. It still has to be ratified by its members. ****** Another contentious education issue to start the 2015-16 school year is the introduc- tion of an updated physical and health cur- riculum. Changes to the sex education portion of the curriculum have upset many parents, who believe it presents inappropriate mate- rial and/or at too early an age. Some parents have staged public protests with others vowing to remove their children from class when the new sex ed information is being taught. Halton District School Board Education Director David Euale said he was not aware of any students at the board who were ab- sent on the first day of school last week for that reason. "We will investigate any type of with- drawal of students on the first day of school but I have heard nothing about it at this time. "We believe our plan for the in-service of staff and the information to parents (on sex education) has been well received," Euale said in an email to the Post. "We will continue to allow for religious accommodations on curriculum issues as part of our inclusive strategy; we acknowl- edge the right of parents to withdraw their children from school if they feel the instruc- tion is inappropriate for their children," he added. -- with Toronto Star files By Tim Whitnell Metroland Media Group