Saskatchewan is bringing in new policies around sex education and pronoun use in the province’s schools.
The province announced Tuesday that going forward, schools must now seek the permission of parents or guardians before allowing students under the age of 16 to change what the province refers to as their “preferred” name and pronouns.
For students 16 and over, parent/guardian consent is not required.
The province also announced parents must be informed about the sexual health education curriculum offered in their children’s schools and have the opportunity to opt out of their children receiving those lessons.
Education Minister Dustin Duncan said at a news conference Tuesday that there will be provisions in place for children wanting to change their name and pronouns who believe they are at risk of harm if their parents find out.
“My view is that the default position can’t be ‘how do we keep this from the kid’s parents?’ The default position needs to be, ‘How do we provide that student with the support so that they are comfortable with their parents knowing a decision they want to make?'” he said.
Duncan said the changes were driven by parents and that some schools had already begun considering policies.
“We certainly have heard from parents on this. Part of the changes today is to provide consistency across the school divisions,” Duncan said.
When asked what experts the ministry had consulted when crafting the new policies, Duncan did not directly answer, saying that it would be consulting and researching as it went forward.
When pressed on what would happen if experts and evidence point to this being the wrong decision, Duncan replied that he did not, “know how involving parents more is wrong.”
“We’re not going to be using outside third-party organizations from out of province. We’re going to be working with the school divisions. We’ll be working with parents and other individuals that have an interest in this. So that that will be our our plan going forward,” he said.
Duncan dismissed concerns that the changes he announced Tuesday were similar to changes to a gender-identity policy in New Brunswick that made it mandatory to deny a request from a child under 16 to use a specific name or pronoun unless parents consent. That policy change was found to violate the New Brunswick Human Rights Act, the Education Act and children’s charter rights by the province’s child and youth advocate last week.
Duncan said his department would work with the Saskatchewan Advocate for Children and Youth if the office planned to look at the new policy.
The advocate’s office said it is currently reviewing the changes.
Changes to sexual education policy
Parents will have the opportunity to opt out of “all or part” of the Human Sexuality unit taught in the province’s schools, according to a letter written by Duncan and distributed to all chairs of boards of education in the province.
All boards must also immediately pause any involvement with any third-party organization connected to sexual health education while the Ministry of Education undertakes a review of “educational resources to ensure alignment with curriculum outcomes.”
Only teachers can present sexual education materials in the classroom, Duncan said.
The policy shift comes after an incident at Lumsden High School in June, where a Grade 9 student picked up graphic sex ed material left behind by Planned Parenthood after members of the organization presented to their health class.
Planned Parenthood Regina has said the material was not directly related to the presentation, but Duncan called for all schools in the province to suspend presentations by the organization.
Reaction pours in
Organizations began to weigh in on the changes within hours of the policy announcement.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) swiftly condemned the policy shift, saying it made it more dangerous to be a LGBTQ student in the province.
“The new policy violates the rights and dignity of 2SLGBTQIA+ young people and is not in the best interest of students,” the CCLA said in a statement.
“Shredding the rights of students is repulsive. Implementing policy that could result in increased harm to vulnerable youth is disgraceful.”
The organization said it is ready to take the legal measures necessary to protect the rights of students in Saskatchewan.
Lori Johb, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, issued a simple statement on Tuesday.
“Outing children as part of a political gamble is violent and despicable,” she said.
Policy changes were teased earlier this month by Premier Scott Moe in a post-byelection press conference.
He said the Lumsden-Morse byelection, which saw the Sask Party retain the seat but lose ground to the Saskatchewan United Party, sent a message that his government would be listening to loud and clear.
“A majority of voters in Lumsden-Morse still believe that it is the Saskatchewan Party that is the best option to address these concerns and we intend to do just that,” Moe said on Aug. 11.