Both the Anglophone East and Anglophone South District Education Councils in New Brunswick have adopted their own policies regarding gender identity and other matters relating to LGBTQ2 students.
The decisions come as the provincial government’s changes to Policy 713, a province-wide policy affecting LGBTQ2 students, continues to generate controversy.
“We felt that students were being made unsafe by the changes made to Policy 713,” Anglophone East District Education Council member Kristin Cavoukian told Global News in an interview on Wednesday.
The provincial government has made changes to Policy 713, including requiring parental consent for staff to refer to students under 16 by their chosen names and pronouns.
“We felt that (the changes) were poorly thought out, and there was a lack of consultation both with people with lived experience and with experts. And we saw the possibility for this to have terrible impacts on some of the most vulnerable students in our school” Cavoukian said.
On Tuesday evening, the Anglophone East District Education Council unanimously voted in favour of Cavoukian’s motion to create a policy that “strengthens Policy 713.”
That policy doesn’t require a parent’s consent to use a student’s chosen name and pronouns, and also states all students can participate in school activities in a “safe, welcoming way consistent with their gender identity.”
“Going forward, next year’s (staff) will be able to treat students with the same amount of dignity that they have this year,” she said.
She wants to see all the other District Education Councils adopt their own policies.
The Anglophone South school district has voted to implement its own policy that is “more comprehensive” than the provincial policy revealed on June 14.
In an emailed statement, the Anglophone South District Education Council said “ASD-S school personnel shall use the chosen first name and pronoun(s) that students request. The chosen first name and pronoun(s) shall be used consistently in ways that the student has requested.”
That policy is effective immediately.
Last week, education minister Bill Hogan told the legislature Bill 46, a controversial bill that would take the decision-making power away from anglophone district education councils, would not move ahead.
“We’re very pleased that the education act changes have been withdrawn for the moment,” Cavoukian said. “(The four anglophone district education councils) were prepared with a legal challenge the minute it passed into law. We’re prepared to do so again.”
Global News reached out to the Department of Education for comment on Wednesday but did not receive a response in time for publication.