Parents react to Alberta moving toward opt-in gender ed, mandatory pronoun notice

The Alberta government’s plan to require parents to provide sex education for their children at school is irritating some parents and satisfying others.

The United Conservative Party government introduced Bill 27, the Education Amendment Act, on Thursday.

If the legislation passes, parents would be required to sign up for classes primarily concerned with human sexuality, gender identity or sexual orientation, and the Department of Education would investigate any sources or outside speakers related to these topics.

Parents can already opt out under current law, which requires one notification. The proposed rules would require school officials to notify parents at least 30 days in advance, provide sufficient information to make an informed decision and have the opportunity to sign up for all or part of the class. However, no parental notification is required for submitting references to sexuality.

Prime Minister Danielle Smith said parents should be fully informed about what is happening in the classroom so they can talk to their children about it.

“That’s what we’ve heard from parents that they want and that’s what we will deliver,” she said Thursday.

Some parents agree with the Prime Minister and say they want to be better informed about what their children are learning in this area.

“I will be more aware and involved in their education,” said Geraldine Balao, an Edmonton parent who said she thinks the bill is great.

“I would like to see what they actually teach in terms of sex ed,” said Leila Saleh, another parent in Edmonton who has three school-age children.

Parents opposed to the change told CBC News they think it could lead to fewer students learning basic life lessons, including ways to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections and prevent pregnancy.

“It’s an add-on to something that I think should be available to all of our children because it’s important information for them to get,” said Erica Shield, who has two daughters in elementary school in Calgary.

Carrie Vos from Edmonton also disagrees with the change.

“The option to opt out is already there, and so I think you already have the choice,” she said.

The government also proposes to prioritize in-person legal education and force teachers, principals and other school staff to notify parents if their children under 18 use new names or pronouns. School staff would need to obtain parental consent to use a new name and pronouns if the student is under 16 years of age.

School administrators should ensure that students receive help if they request it or if the pronoun reporting process is expected to cause emotional or psychological harm.

Opposition from associations

Associations representing teachers and parent council members say the changes announced by the government are unpopular with their members.

Members of the Alberta Teachers’ Association passed a resolution at their annual representative meeting in May saying “notice and consent regarding human sexuality” was not required.

ATA President Jason Schilling said if parents signed up and the department explored all sex education resources, it would burden already overwhelmed teachers and have a chilling effect in classrooms.

The president of the Alberta School Councils’ Association also said his members do not support Bill 27.

“That was really loud and clear to us at our AGM,” said Ken Glazebrook.

Edmonton public school administrators plan to discuss a motion next week urging school boards to plead with the Minister of Education to maintain the opt-out system and respect school board autonomy over field of sexual orientation and gender identity policy.

Trustee Trisha Estabrooks, former board chair, said she has received a tremendous amount of emails and phone calls expressing concerns about the opt-in system and pronoun reporting issues.

“This is some of the most regressive legislation in this country,” she said Friday.

Parents are not involved: sex educator

Pam Krause, president and CEO of the Center for Sexuality, says children want their parents to be part of sex education in their lives, but parents often feel ill-equipped and avoid those conversations.

“I’m all for parents being super involved, but that’s just not our experience,” she said.

Krause, whose organization hosts workshops in schools, said forgotten forms can cause students to miss out on learning about healthy relationships, consent and sexual health.

Minister defends bill

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides defended the requirement for parents to sign up during an interview with CBC’s Edmonton AM on Friday morning.

“The main reason behind this change is to ensure that there is greater clarity, transparency and greater awareness on the topics being discussed in relation to human sexuality,” he said.

Smith said Thursday that having parents sign up is “no more complicated than getting parental support on a field trip.”