TORONTO – A police investigation is underway after two Toronto area schools were vandalized overnight following protests against the province’s new sex education curriculum.
The words “shame on you” appeared in black spray paint on the exterior walls of Fraser Mustard Academy and Thorncliffe Park Public School Wednesday morning.
Toronto District School Board spokesperson Shari Schwartz-Maltz said the graffiti was discovered by a vice principal around 7:30 a.m. and police were called soon after.
READ MORE: What Ontario’s new sex ed curriculum teaches in Grades 1 through 12
“We don’t know who did it,” said Schwartz-Maltz. “We do have a couple cameras at Fraser Mustard and we’re working with police to determine who did this.”
The TDSB said there are no cameras installed at Thorncliffe Park PS where parents pulled hundreds of students from the school in protest.
School officials say the building was only half full for the first day of school with an enrollment capacity of around 1,400.
However, the attendance numbers jumped to just over 1,000 students on Wednesday, the TDSB confirmed.
Premier Kathleen Wynne told reporters on Wednesday she was “dismayed” by the acts of vandalism but would not withdraw the curriculum as “kids need this information.”
READ MORE: Peel school board to take tough stance on new sex ed curriculum
Opponents of the new sex education curriculum argue that the new program, which will teach students about concepts including gender identity, sexual orientation and masturbation, does not mesh with their values and is inappropriate for school-age children.
Parents against the lesson plan have threatened to pull their children out of school or home school them unless the curriculum is shelved.
Ontario hasn’t updated its Health and Physical Education curriculum since 1998 and the Wynne government argues that the changes are necessary to bring sexual education in line with other provinces.
Comments