Teachers association says new legislation undermines student trust, safety

By BRENDAN MILLER on November 2, 2024.

bmiller@medicinehatnews.com

The Alberta Teachers Association responded to the government’s announcement Thursday of legislation for the transgender community, including bans on gender-affirming surgery for anyone under 17 years and hormone therapy for anyone 15 or under. Parental consent will also be required to change a student’s name or pronoun at school.

ATA president Jason Schilling spoke to reporters Friday via online video conference to share his concerns with Bill 27, the Education Amendment Act, saying proposed legislation targets vulnerable students and is a distraction from the province’s “chronic unfunding” and overcrowded schools.

“We want all students to know, especially to those students who identify or have family members that identify as gender or relationship diverse,” said Schilling. “Yesterday the government introduced Bill 27, legislation that will undermine the trust and safety of all students and creates a distraction from a core issue of under-funding of public education.”

Among other requirements, Bill 27 requires all school divisions to become more transparent in communications with parents and would require schools to notify parents if students under 15 years old request teachers and staff to use a preferred name or pronoun.

“We stand firmly against measures that require teachers to disclose sensitive information about students’ identities,” said Schilling. “There are many situations where students may not feel ready to share their aspects of their identity with their families.

“Forcing disclosure via counsellor or school board before a student is comfortable will cause unnecessary harm and distress.”

Schilling cited research that shows LGBTQIA2S+ students are four times more likely to commit self-harm or attempt suicide and says any legislation that targets these youth is “dangerous, but also deeply irresponsible.”

Also, if passed, the new legislation will require parents to opt their children in for any courses or programs of study that include subject matter that deals primarily with human sexuality, sexual orientation, or gender identity, rather than the current law that allows parents to opt out.

Schillings says the policy discourages learning opportunities by adding more “bureaucratic barrels” to jump over given that any parents who are uncomfortable with course material already have the opportunity to opt their students out of programs.

“It makes me wonder what is the problem we are trying to solve? This will place an additional burden on schools and parents requiring forms for lessons that, again, parents can already opt out of, further straining our already overwhelmed teachers” said Schilling.

The act would also empower the Ministry of Education to approve learning and teaching resources as well as external presenters for topics dealing with human sexuality or gender identification.

Schillings says this approval process is already being carried out by local school divisions.

“The fact that the government now wants to have their say about their materials going in, is going to slow down this process,” says Schilling. “It’s going to start editing out certain material that would traditionally be presented to student,s and that’s very valuable information that students need.”

Schilling hopes to see more consultation between the ATA and the province about the proposed legislation. If passed the bill will come into effect upon royal proclamation that is expected for Sept. 1, 2025.

“We can once again reiterate our concern about the harm this will bring our students, the overburdening of our school system that this is going to cause and hopefully get the government to shift their priorities to an area that is more important.”

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