Cheers and fears as WSD trustees debate landmark transgender policy

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This article was published 25/1/2016 (1320 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Amid fears of discrimination against heterosexuals, predictions of lawsuits and the perils of schools keeping secrets from parents, Winnipeg School Division’s pioneering transgender policy is off and running.

Well, not exactly running — the wheels of government can turn very slowly.

The policy/program committee took its first crack at the preliminary draft of a landmark policy Monday night, sending it back to staff for further work that will take until at least late March.

After that, there are at least three months of public consultation, followed by a staff report on public feedback, and then to the school board for a vote — making September implementation very iffy.

"I’ll be very disappointed" if it’s not ready when school starts in the fall, said committee chairwoman Lisa Naylor, the proponent behind what could become an historic policy.

The draft policy would ensure students and staff in Winnipeg School Division could be addressed by the pronouns they choose, dress as they wish and be protected from any form of discrimination.

"WSD promotes and celebrates the LGBTTQ* community," the policy declares. The LGBTTQ inclusive curriculum and resources would be in use from kindergarten through Grade 12, and teachers would receive extensive training.

The draft policy can be read here.

"I’m blown away by how impressive this initial draft is," Naylor said Monday night.

The family of Bella Burgos agreed. The family’s human rights complaint against River East Transcona School Division will be heard this July — Bella was eight when she was bullied by the parent of another child at Joseph Teres School over her choice of washroom.

"It is a great start and an excellent resource for divisions across Manitoba to look to when developing their own policy. We are pleased with how quickly the committee has put forth a draft which clearly states the rights of both students and staff. This is a step towards a safe school environment while at the same time giving transgender and gender non-conforming students equal access to facilities, programs and activities," Bella’s father, Dale Burgos, said Monday.

But others had qualms and concerns.

What about discrimination against heterosexuals?: Koshelanyk

Trustee Dean Koshelanyk said the policy does not address discrimination against heterosexuals on the basis of their sexuality. He worried about the costs of training and of overhauling curricula, and questioned imposing zero tolerance of any discrimination.

"When people see zero tolerance, they get real scared and real quick," Koshelanyk said.

But board chairman Mark Wasyliw countered that the division practises restorative justice, while Naylor said the policy does not need to address any notion of reverse racism: "There’s a cultural norm of the superiority of heterosexuality" that creates the onus for protecting transgender students and staff, she said. "Their genitalia at birth may not match your idea of what female is," but that’s the way the world is moving, Naylor said.

Trustee Mike Babinsky wondered if it’s legal for schools not to share with non-supportive parents that their children have self-declared as transgender.

Koshelanyk said that could be a problem for teachers anytime they dealt with parents: "We have this secret we’re not releasing to parents," he said.

That’s among the issues on which the division will seek legal advice, said chief superintendent Pauline Clarke.

"We need to take parents’ rights seriously, but we need to protect the mental health of our students," Naylor said.

lawsuits regardless: Babinsky

Trustee Chris Broughton said "trolls" would raise issues around washrooms and change rooms for gym class and sports teams, even though the policy makes it clear that transgender students would have access to private facilities. "I applaud the language and direction you’ve taken here," Broughton told staff.

Not so, argued Koshelanyk: "This specifically says we will have people who are male and female in the same change room."

Babinsky predicted there would be lawsuits regardless of what actions the division takes, and said there will always be parents who do not want their children exposed to transgender students. He wondered what would happen under the policy, and under zero tolerance, if a change room full of girls opposed the presence of a student they perceived to be male.

"I don’t think you make policy based on extreme situations," Wasyliw said.

Director of student support services Julie Miller told the trustees, "Some of this language is new to some of us."

Already, Miller said, "We’re on our way to having universal washrooms in our schools," and it is becoming increasingly the practice that schools have some single washrooms that are available to anyone.

Clarke said the staff would seek legal advice and would prepare a final draft, which would come back to the committee sometime after the board passes its budget by March 15. She was unsure how much it would cost to amend curricula, and said there would need to be changes to the division’s anti-homophobia training to educate teachers about a transgender policy.

Once the committee accepts that final draft, Clarke said, it goes to "schools, our unions, parent councils" for consultation that usually takes at least three months, after which staff prepare feedback for the committee.

That means the committee would likely not have the policy in its hands by the end of the school year, and the full board no longer holds summer meetings.

A look at the policy

The division says LGBTTQ* is "an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Two-Spirit and Queer/Questioning. The asterisk represents other minority gender identities and sexual orientations — sexual minority is a synonymous term. "

Transgender, the policy states, "is a person who does not identify with either fully or in part with the gender conventionally associated with the sex assigned to them at birth. Transgender or trans* is an umbrella term to represent a wide range of gender identities and expressions."

The draft policy is the first in any Manitoba school division. This past September, the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association introduced a transgender policy for varsity student-athletes.

The draft policy sets out extensive training for teachers, and directs principals and vice-principals to support a transgender student.

"Each school shall have a student support team, whether that includes one teacher or a group of individuals which may consist of one or more of the following: principal, vice-principal, counsellor, resource teacher, School Resource Officer (SRO), Clinical Support Services (CSS), teacher(s) or any other caring adult," it says.

Schools would avoid gender segregated activities and events as much as possible, and would adopt new dress codes.

"Students have the right to dress in a manner consistent with their gender identity or gender expression. This includes students who may dress in a manner that is not consistent with societal expectations of masculinity/ femininity. Thus, a flexible and gender neutral dress code will ensure that students feel included and respected," the policy reads.

Students and staff will be able to choose the pronoun by which each prefers to be addressed: "Many transgender and gender nonconforming people may adopt gender neutral pronouns including, he/him/his; she/her/hers; they/them/theirs; xe/xem/xyr; ze, zhe; hir/ hirs or no pronoun."

There would be zero tolerance for any form of discrimination.

And schools would develop specific procedures for supporting transgender students whose parents did not accept their child’s gender identity.

The curriculum would respect gender diversity throughout every grade. The draft policy stipulates that:

— Ensure curriculum, classroom materials and activities contain LGBTTQ* inclusive curriculum.

— Provide positive images and accurate information about the history and culture which reflects the accomplishments and contributions of LGBTTQ* students.

— Challenge gender stereotypes and integrate trans- positive content into the teaching of all subject areas in accordance with WSD policy and procedures in provincial legislation.

— Librarians should acquire trans-positive fiction and non-fiction books for school libraries and encourage the circulation of books that teach about transgender and gender non-conformity.

Winnipeg School Division pioneered a landmark anti-homophobia education plan in 1999 used throughout the division. At the time, it faced loud and angry opposition, most of it from individuals and groups living outside the division, many of them opposing the policy on faith-based grounds.

The policy has now been part of the WSD curriculum for almost 17 years.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca