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Such changes ”(include) new flexibility in the scheduling of recess and lunch — for example, schools may choose to offer one longer recess period in place of two shorter ones, while still providing a lunch break” and the 300 daily minutes of instructional time, says the memo sent out Thursday.

A handful of schools have already tinkered with recess and lunch schedules, and the new proposal would ensure there is a lunch break for staff and students of at least 40 minutes, and 60 minutes in total for recess and lunch combined.

René Jansen in de Wal, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, said he doesn’t understand why the province “would want to take central control of something that serves the local needs of the community. That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

A number of schools that implemented alternative recess and lunch plans have since reverted back to their former schedules because the timetable changes impacted daycare, or the ease of scheduling music, French or physical education, he said, adding “there’s many layers to it that you’re trying to make work.” 

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, the country’s largest teachers’ union, said even though “many schools across the province already have balanced school days in place with two breaks during the day instead of two recesses and one lunch break,” it has concerns.

The government focus on “the school day structure won’t address the systemic issues students face, such as large class sizes, a lack of supports for students with special education needs, rising violence in schools, and chronic underfunding,” it said in a statement to the Star.

“Changes to how the school day is structured must prioritize student well-being and learning, not convenience or cost-cutting.”

And for supply teachers or those on half-day assignments, such changes could “create challenges … as the midpoint of the day may no longer align with a natural break,” the elementary teachers’ union said. “This misalignment, if not addressed up front, could lead to more logistical staffing difficulties for schools and school boards.” It is urging full consultations with educators.

Michael Bellmore, president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association, said the new regulation could “set a level playing field for everybody” exploring alternative schedules.

The province is also its new June 1 .

The ministry will mandate that the day is recognized, and will “provide students with the opportunity to learn about and celebrate key milestones in Ontario’s history and the contributions Ontarians have made to Ontario and Canada’s broader social, economic, political and cultural fabric,” it says in an online post seeking feedback.

Bellmore said a “day of learning and reflection in Ontario schools is a positive thing.”

Given the diversity of the province, “there’s been countless contributions,” he added. “Take my own home area of Sudbury … students can learn about the contributions of early miners from Sudbury, and the smelting process, or learning about the logging that happens up in Kapuskasing, or we could learn about the textile industry that exists today in the GTA — I think there’s a lot of interesting things” to cover.

“The more we know about the province that we live in and call home, the better it is for us.”

In the Thursday memo to board chairs and directors of education, as well as unions, the ministry said the consultation period will close on Tuesday. 

Jansen in de Wal said he’s not opposed to an Ontario Day, but said “like everything else, they say they’ve got this broad concept, but then there’s never any detail.”

He said parents and teachers should have a say in what it will entail, but the short consultation period in the middle of summer shows the government isn’t serious about getting input.

“Teachers are so busy trying to figure out all of the things the government continues to announce, without any kind of consultation, that it’s like, ‘We’re going to throw something else on your plate’ while everybody’s too busy to begin with,” he added. “They’re messing up what could be a good idea by failing to consult in a meaningful way.”