Alberta proposes parental consent for name changes in schools, age limits on gender affirmation care
Global News
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the government will be requiring parental notification and consent if a child 15 years or younger changes their name and pronouns at school.
Alberta will be requiring schools to notify and gain parental consent if their child changes their name and pronouns in school.
In a social media post on Wednesday afternoon, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the government will require parental notification and consent if a child 15 years or younger changes their name and pronouns at school.
In the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, parents of children aged 16 and 17 will not need to consent to the changes but will need to be notified.
Parents will also be given the choice to opt their children out of classroom discussions and instruction on gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality. All third-party materials regarding these subjects must be pre-approved by the Ministry of Education.
This comes after the premier said on Your Province, Your Premier last Saturday that the United Conservative government would announce its parental rights policy this week. Smith’s video was posted on X and reporters were not given an opportunity to ask questions.
Smith said it is the responsibility of parents, teachers and community leaders to “preserve” children’s rights to grow and develop into mature adults so they are “better prepared to make the most impactful decisions affecting their lives.”
“It is my view that list of adult choices includes deciding whether or not to alter one’s biological sex. Making permanent and irreversible decisions regarding one’s biological sex while still a youth can severely limit that child’s choices in the future. Prematurely encouraging or enabling children to alter their very biology or natural growth, no matter how well-intentioned and sincere, poses a risk to that child’s future that I as premier am not comfortable with permitting in our province.”