MEDICINE HAT, AB — School District 76 is proposing changes to its LGBTQ policies.
The amendments were brought in during the board’s monthly meeting Tuesday evening, after discussion and feedback from parent councils in the division.
The amendments proposed relate to the board’s policy 622, which covers sexual orientation and gender identity. One of the amendments would allow staff to “encourage, without coercion, a student to communicate with their parents or guardians and seek their support,” if a student comes out as LGBTQ.
Trustee Carolyn Freeman, who presented the report, says the goal of the policy is to ensure all voices are represented, while ensuring students have the support that they need.
“We absolutely want parents to be part of the process,” she said. “Certainly education is a process that includes all stakeholders, parents, guardians, students, teachers, staff and we want to encourage that.
“Of course, we cannot break student-teacher confidentiality, anymore than a doctor can’t break patient confidentiality.”
The second amendment to the policy stated that all future amendments to the policy would align with SD76’s policies.
Freeman also reported teachers will not disclose if a student has joined a gay-straight alliance.
CHAT News reached out to the Concerned Parents of SD76, who in an e-mail, said “We are in the process of evaluating the report and will be disseminating it to our group so as to gather feedback,” and did not provide comment.
The proposed amendments will be brought to SD76’s next meeting on May 16.
Freeman adds all of the division’s policies, including the LGBTQ policies, are regularly reviewed.
“Policies are not written in stone,” she said. “Education changes, times change, and legislation changes and education philosophy changes. It’s very, very important to recognize that any policy is a work in progress.”
SD76 hires new assistant superintendents
SD76 announced on Wednesday there have hired two new staff members in administrative roles.
Joanne Pitman, who comes from the Grande Prairie Public School Division, and Corey Sadlemyer, the principal at Dr. Roy Wilson Learning Centre, are joining SD76 as assistant superintendents.
Pitman and Sadlemyer will begin their new roles in the fall.
