Saskatchewan is following New Brunswick’s lead regarding preferred names and pronouns in schools.
The provincial NDP leader says the SaskParty government is using “reckless”, “cynical”, and ‘divisive” politics by changing policy for gender and pronoun changes in school.
Carla Beck calls it a new low.
“Because today what we saw from this government was calculated policy to solve their own political problems. And a policy that we fear will put already vulnerable kids at greater risk.”
Beck says she is deeply frustrated that this is what the education minister in Saskatchewan spent his summer doing.
Students under the age of 16 will now require parental permission when changing preferred names and pronouns in a school. The announcement was made at a news conference with the Minister responsible, Dustin Duncan, on Tuesday in Regina.
As well the government says parents and guardians can opt out of their child participating in their school’s sexual education curriculum.
The Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools says having just received the policy Tuesday morning they will need to take some time to review it and what it means for their school division and “how we can continue to make learning environments safe and inclusive for all students.”
The GSCS says it has not had any involvement with the ARC Foundation or SOGI123 program which is described on ARC’s website as helping educators make schools inclusive and safe for students of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
Responding to an inquiry from our newsroom, Saskatoon Public Schools says it has had preliminary meetings with the ARC Foundation over the past school year to discuss the potential use of their resources in classrooms, which are aligned with curriculum outcomes, including the health curriculum.
Under the new rules, Boards of Education must also pause involvement with any third-party organization connected to sexual health education. The Saskatoon Public Schools has not yet responded to a similar request for information as to how the announcement from the government impacts their schools.
The president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour has also issued a statement regarding these changes, and it is one brief sentence. Lori Johb says, “Outing children as part of a political gamble is violent and despicable.”
