Policy 713 and kids: Fact checking 4 statements made by the premier
CBC
WARNING: This story contains discussion of suicide
A month after beginning a review of an education policy that protects LGBTQ youth, Premier Blaine Higgs has revealed exactly what is being reviewed and why.
Policy 713 was introduced in 2020 to guarantee minimum support for LGBTQ students. This includes things like making sure teachers use students' correct pronouns and that gender-neutral washrooms are available.
On Tuesday, Higgs said the review is being done for parents' sake.
The policy says if a child wants an informal name or pronoun change to be used in the classroom, then the teacher would need the child's consent to share that fact with the parent. Higgs said the province will study this part of the policy as it may not be appropriate because it takes away parents' rights.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Higgs made a number of statements. The CBC has fact-checked four of them.
1. The policy is keeping parents in the dark and taking away a parent's right to know about a name change.
Parents must sign off on any official name changes for children under 16, and that rule has not been changed. The policy adds a line about an informal name or pronoun change requiring the child's consent to share that with the parent.
Gail Costello, the co-chair of Pride in Education, a non-profit that contributed to the implementation of the policy, said teachers have never been obligated to share informal name changes with parents, and this policy is not revoking any previous obligation or parental right.
Costello retired from Oromocto High School after teaching for 30 years. She said she's seen a lot of kids who would be in danger, and possibly isolated or kicked out of their homes, if their parents knew they were trans or gay. She said this is why she would never tell a parent about a name or pronoun change without consent from the student — but she also has never been asked.
Costello said she ran the school's Gay/Straight Alliiance for at least 10 years. "I never, ever, ever had a parent even inquire about it," she said. "If they had, I wouldn't have told them."
Higgs said "Kids are kids and adults are adults," and parents are responsible for their children. But Costello said the safety of the students trumps the parents' desire to know what name their children go by.
"The parents are not going to be in any risk whatsoever to find out that their daughter goes by John as opposed to Joan at school," Costello said.
"But it is important for the kids to be able to use the name that they feel more comfortable with. It's good for their mental health."
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