P.E.I. parents say bullying is keeping children out of school as absenteeism remains high

Many students stay they’re skipping class due to ongoing bullying and threats of violence at school. Maria Sarrouh reports.

Families on Prince Edward Island say bullying is keeping some children out of school, and for Cecil Callaghan, 16, it means missing class one to three days a week.

Callaghan says other students have been calling him names about his weight for the past couple of years. The bullying has kept him out of the learning environment often enough that he says he’s now failing all his Grade 11 classes.

“I want to go to school and get my education,” Callaghan said. “But I’m getting bullied too much, so I just stay home.”

Data provided to CTV News by the province’s Public Schools Branch from fall 2025 shows almost 20 per cent of students, or 4,096, were chronically or severely chronically absent, meaning they missed 20 or more days.

The 2024-2025 COMPASS report for P.E.I. – a survey of participating students in Grades 7 to 12 - found 29 per cent reported being bullied within the past 30 days. That’s well above the COMPASS national average of 19 per cent, which includes results from Quebec, Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia as well.

At an anti-bullying event Sunday hosted by Guardians of the Children during Child Abuse Prevention Month, other parents described similar struggles as the Callaghans.

Alex Butler said his daughter has missed more than 40 days of school this year. In late July, a video was posted to TikTok of another child yanking the nine-year-old’s hair, kicking her, shoving her to the ground and calling her names.

“It’s due to safety concerns, bullying and the lack of intervention,” he said.

Steven Charlebois said his daughter has missed about 20 weeks of school.

“Most of it falls down to basic bullying, over and over and over,” he said.

Education Minister Robin Croucher also attended the event.

“It’s no surprise. Bullying is a word that we hear an awful lot,” Croucher said. “It’s something that’s very much the focus of the work I’m doing every day.”

In an email to CTV News earlier this week, a PSB spokesperson said the board is working to improve attendance through initiatives such as public information campaigns and efforts aimed at student mental health and engagement.

Croucher points to Positive Behaviour Intervention and Supports, or PBIS, a school-wide framework meant to promote a positive culture. It includes behaviour support teachers and other supports aimed at improving students’ social, emotional, behavioural and academic outcomes.

“I’m hoping the work we’re doing is making a difference, albeit not as fast as I’d like to see it,” Croucher said.

In the legislature this week, Green MLA Karla Bernard brought forward Motion 18, which calls for the province to track school absences due to bullying by adding it as an option in absence data collection. Croucher did not support the motion.

Green Party Leader Matt MacFarlane who was also at the anti-bullying event said efforts would continue.

“We thought that would be one way to gather some evidence and some data. And unfortunately, it didn’t pass, but we’ll keep working on it.”