Union for school psychologists will stand behind members who defy changes to LGBTQ policy
Minister says school staff are not allowed to use a child's chosen name and pronoun without parental consent
The union representing school psychologists and social workers has come out against changes to a policy protecting LGBTQ students.
On Thursday, Minister of Education Bill Hogan announced changes to Policy 713, which sets minimum standards for providing a safe learning environment for queer and trans students.
Hogan said the new policy now forbids teachers and staff from using the chosen name or pronoun — officially or unofficially — of a child under 16 without parental consent.
Susie Proulx-Daigle is president of the New Brunswick Union, which represents mental health professionals in schools. She said her members will not be forced to deny a child's chosen name and pronoun, no matter what the minister says.
"We're prepared to file grievances on behalf of our members because we don't want our members to be forced to misgender students," she said. "That's wrong, that's absolutely wrong … It's just not respectful and we feel it's unreasonable."
Proulx-Daigle said the union is considering filing a grievance against the whole new policy, and lawyers are currently looking at options.
The union is one of many organizations and individuals speaking out against the changes to the policy.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has said the changes "violate the rights and dignity" of LGBTQ youth, and the new policy "is not in the best interests of children and will cause harm to trans and non-binary kids."
The New Brunswick Women's Council said the changes "unequivocally roll back options and protections for trans students in the school system."
Two senators, René Cormier from New Brunswick and Kim Pate from Ontario, have written a letter urging the government to undo the changes related to names and pronouns.
"While this review seemed harmless to many, let's remember that any challenge to minority rights is a threat to the integrity of the right in question," the senators wrote.
Teachers and staff 'don't have a choice'
Policy 713 has always stipulated that the school must get parental consent to make a name and pronoun change official for kids under 16.
The change announced Thursday relates to what happens if the child says no to including parents in the conversation.
The new policy says if the child declines to involve the parents to make their name change official, then they should be referred to a school social worker or school psychologist to "work with them in development of a plan to speak with their parents if and when they are ready to do so."
Proulx-Daigle said the professionals mentioned specifically in this policy were not included or consulted during the review process.
She said the membership is confused about how they're supposed to create a plan for a child to speak to their parents, especially since using a different name or pronoun does not automatically mean a child is mentally ill.
"They say government is claiming to clarify the policy when in fact they made it more vague, and they're asking us for support ... to what end?" she said.
"Why are we being forced? Like we're going to force students to come see us when they likely don't have a mental health issue?"
The minister's words don't exactly match the policy
The wording of the policy is not as explicit as the minister has been in public interviews.
The policy makes it no longer mandatory to respect all children's pronouns and name changes, but there is nothing banning the use of a child's name and pronoun without parental consent in an unofficial capacity, for example, verbally, in the classroom.
The policy, before and after it was changed, has always prevented teachers and staff from officially changing the child's name, on report cards and school systems for example, without consulting with parents.
Connie Keating, the president of the New Brunswick Teachers' Union, said the union is still trying to confirm if it's actually mandatory to refuse to use a child's preferred name or pronoun, informally, if there's no parental consent.
On Friday, Hogan said no school employee will be allowed to respect a child under 16's choice of name and pronoun without parental consent.
If teachers do not have parental permission, "then they won't be able to use it in class because of the position of public trust that they hold," Hogan told Information Morning Moncton. "They don't have a choice to comply with [children's] wishes."
Keating said if the minister is saying that's indeed the policy, then she has concerns. She said forcing teachers to ignore a child's request to use a specific name or pronoun is not "supporting teachers," and that puts pressure on them.
"Teachers will always do their utmost to prevent a child from any form of harm. Teachers know the importance of making connections with their students," she said. "And so this particular situation, the policy as it currently reads, will put teachers in a very difficult situation."
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