Sask. school division says province ignored set guidelines around gender disclosure

A Saskatchewan school division says the education minister did not ask about a school guideline that prompted the government to propose its pronoun bill.

Regina Public Schools says neither the current minister, Jeremy Cockrill, nor his predecessor, Dustin Duncan, inquired about the administrative procedure when it was introduced last year.

The school division says the guideline includes a provision that tells staff not to disclose a student’s gender unless they have permission from the student, or if there’s an impending safety concern.

Cockrill says the procedure was the impetus for the province to table its pronoun legislation.

He says the guideline implies parents would not be informed, and the government wanted to correct it.

The government has tabled legislation that would prevent children under 16 from changing their names or pronouns at school without parental consent.

The bill also includes the notwithstanding clause, overriding Charter rights to ensure the legislation isn’t challenged in court.