Area Wildrose MLAs say they have concerns and questions about the provincial government's new LGBTQ guidelines for school boards.
Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Nathan Cooper says he needs more time to craft a position on the provincial government's best practices for school boards on how to deal with the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual trans, two-spirit, queer, questioning and/or gender-diverse (LGBTQ) students.
Cooper was reacting to guidelines on that issue, released by the provincial government Jan. 13.
The guidelines feature 12 best practices to achieve the government's goal of inclusive, safe schools for LGBTQ students and to support gay-straight alliances within those schools.
A March 31 deadline has been set to meet that goal.
According to the guidelines, school board policies and regulations must “explicitly” protect all students, teachers and family members who fall into the LGBTQ category.
It says dress codes should not suggest that, for example, skirts can only be worn by females.
Suggestions include enabling gender-diverse students and teachers to choose the bathrooms they want to use as well as the names, pronouns and clothing they wear to showcase their sexual identity.
It also says gender-segregated activities such as sports should be structured to allow gender-diverse students to join teams, etc., that fit in with the gender they identify with.
An Alberta Education group will review the policies submitted by each board and work with them if they're not found to be up to snuff.
Education Minister David Eggen said despite the backlash from some quarters, like Catholic school boards, other boards have indicated support for the government's initiative.
"Together, we will be able to spur social change in a positive manner and build greater understanding and acceptance for all people," said Eggen.
During an interview with the Gazette, MLA Cooper said he needs more time to hear from all sides – as well as his constituents – before formulating a position on the government's guidelines.
“It's early days,” Cooper said. “We still don't know the full extent of the minister's intentions with the document in terms of adoption at the local level.
“We've seen some Catholic school boards raise some significant concerns and so we need to wait and see exactly what the minister intended for the document.
“I think in many respects, we need to take a bit of a wait-and-see approach as to how all of the guidelines will be applied.”
He said several constituents have expressed concern to him about the guidelines – for example, that it's a case of political correctness going too far.
“We need to get all the facts. I need to listen to the people of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills and hear some of their concerns and some of their support,” he said.
“I will hear a wide variety of opinions. Then, once I've done that, I'll be in a much better position to fairly represent the people of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills.”
The Alberta legislature reconvenes on March 8. Cooper was asked if he will have formulated a position on the guidelines by then.
“It will depend, in many respects, on what – as the minister proceeds, any additional information or directives that he provides out of his office, consultations that take place with school boards – both from the school board level to the minister's level, as well as myself to the school boards,” he said.
“I would encourage constituents to contact my office and let me know what they're feeling about the document as well.”
Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre MLA Jason Nixon says the guidelines leave constituents and Opposition MLAs like himself puzzled as to what they mean and how they'll be enforced.
“I've been getting questions from people within Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre that we don't honestly know the answers to,” said Nixon. “The list of questions we're getting from concerned people is long. I couldn't even go over them all.”
Nixon says another problem is that they're guidelines – not a bill (a proposed law).
“Because we're not dealing with a bill, as an MLA, this is a tough spot to be in. Because if this is a bill, you compare how the law will change and you can start to get a rough idea of how this will affect your constituents,” he said.
“We're dealing with a document – best practices. School boards have been told to come up with a policy, and there's nothing really concrete that we can answer all these hypothetical questions that we're getting.”
"I think in many respects, we need to take a bit of a wait-and-see approach as to how all of the guidelines will be applied."NATHAN COOPEROLDS-DIDSBURY-THREE HILLS MLA
