Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board opposes PC’s sex-ed rollback

The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board in Peterborough says the province should not revoke an updated version of the sex-education curriculum.

In a statement issued Monday from the school board trustees and president Diane Lloyd, the board is urging the Progressive Conservative government to complete further consultations on the announced changes and “allow the current curriculum to remain in place pending the outcome of these consultations.”

“In addition, we ask that the Minister of Education clarify curriculum expectations for September 2018, with the hope that appropriate and responsive learning materials supporting students’ health and wellness can be maintained,” the release reads.

Premier Doug Ford recently announced that the sex-ed curriculum would revert back to the 1998 version, scrapping the updated version that the former Liberal government introduced in 2015.

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WATCH: Protesters in Peterborough speak out against sex-ed curriculum rollback

0:29 Sex-ed curriculum protest in Peterborough

Ford labelled that program a “failed ideological experiment.”

But the KPRDSB disagrees with the premier’s position.

“We do not believe that reverting back to that curriculum, for any period of time, is in the best interests of our students,” the board stated.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We do not believe that reverting back to that curriculum, for any period of time, is in the best interests of our students," the board stated.

The board says youth need knowledge and skills to respond to the “realities, benefits and pressures associated with our rapidly changing, technology-driven world.”

Topics such as cyber-bullying, sexting, online pornography, along with the concepts of consent and body awareness that safeguard children against sexual abuse and encourage them to contact police, were not contemplated within the 1998 curriculum, the board argues.

“As we await further direction from the government, we also want to assure the communities we serve of our unwavering commitment to welcoming and responsive school environments for all, including LGBTQ+ students, families and staff as part of our core values of equity and inclusive education, regardless of the Health and Physical Education curriculum,” the board stated.

The school board encourages parents, families, students and staff to contact their MPP or Minister of Education to share their input on the curriculum.