Education council votes to create distinct LGBTQ policy in Anglophone West

Anglophone West's District Education Council has passed a long-awaited sexual and gender diversity policy to protect members of the LGBTQ community inside the school system.

The passing was met with loud cheers from up to 50 teachers, students and members of the community inside the Fredericton district office on Thursday night.

The new Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities policy states the District Education Council [DEC] values diversity, safety and respect in school communities. The policy expects all members of the school community to be welcomed, respected, accepted and supported in every school.

The DEC also recognizes its obligation to adopt appropriate administrative procedures and strategies to ensure respect for human rights, support diversity and address discrimination.     

Gail Costello, a teacher and facilitator of the gender sexuality alliance at Oromocto High School, said the policy is necessary to protect students and teachers.

"This policy will make changes long-term," Costello said. "We need to start educating students in kindergarten and we need to start educating teachers."

"There's just no education happening. There's nobody hired doing the work and as a result teachers are on their own."

Kimberley Douglass, chair of the District Education Council in Anglophone District West, said the biggest change from the old policy is removing how council operates within the district. 

"We operate on a governance model and the policy itself had a lot of things in it that spoke to operations," Douglass said.

"We needed to make sure that we weren't telling the district how to do things."

Although Douglass said the change might not seem like a lot, it's important the LQBTQ community knows it has support from the district.

That support means a lot to 16-year-old Sarah Piercy, who is a student at Oromocto High School.

"I feel like it'll give teachers more education so they'll be able to understand their students better," said the New Brunswick teen.

"It'll give students more education so they can like learn more about the LGBTQ community."

New policy met with some resistance 

The motion passed with flying colours, but the policy was also met with some resistance from a few council members.

Heather Hogan was one of the few to vote against the motion.

"I'm not sure if a DEC policy is the best place to ensure the rights of the LGBTQ community."

Hogan, a retired teacher, added that when she was teaching she didn't know DEC policies existed.

Hogan said she supports protecting the LQBTQ community but worries the message is not going to be heard as a DEC policy.

Costello wasn't surprised to hear some of the resistance from council prior to the vote.

"The fact that we have resistance on the DEC proves the point that we have still a long ways to go."

The new policy is effective immediately, and Douglass said council will be looking for updates from the district.

"Now we'll set a schedule and we'll ask our superintendent to report to us on the date in that schedule [and] how the district is ensuring that our outcomes in that policy are being met."