School year wraps up with bitterness and uncertainty among teachers

The New Brunswick school year is wrapping up this week with uncertainty concerning changes to Policy 713.

Gender-identity policy changes come into effect on July 1 and teachers still don't know if they'll be forced to say no to a child's request to informally use a different name and pronoun without parental consent.

They also don't know whether they'll face consequences if they do use a child's chosen pronoun, and they still don't have a collective agreement.

On top of that, some district education councils have adopted differing policies. Anglophone South and East passed policy amendments mandating school staff respect all students' informal chosen names and pronouns, regardless of parental consent or age. Official name and pronoun changes for kids under 16 have always required parental signoff, even before the review.

Connie Keating, the president of the New Brunswick Teachers Association, said the union's relationship with this government has been "bitter."

"It's unsettling. We don't know where we're going to be come fall," she told Information Morning Fredericton.

"Over the summer, will we be able to get a collective agreement? Will we find ourselves on the picket line? Those are not the questions we want to be asking. We really want to be focused on student learning."

Keating declined to explain the sticking points in contract negotiations because they're now in the middle of a conciliation process with mediators. She said the union and the employer submitted briefs to a conciliation board, which is expected to deliver a report in mid-July.

Earlier this month, Education Minister Bill Hogan announced changes to Policy 713, which outlines basic protections for LGBTQ students. 

Hogan said one of the changes effectively bans teachers and staff from using a child under 16's chosen name and pronoun informally, unless the child gets parental consent first. And if the child doesn't want to address this with parents, they're to be "directed" to a school psychologist or social worker to come up with a plan to speak to their parents. 

The union representing those mental health professionals has filed a  grievance over these policy changes, saying the policy is not clear and it makes them complicit in harming children.

The New Brunswick Association of School Psychologists said denying a child's right to identity is against the New Brunswick Human Rights Act, and it also causes psychological harm.

Minister Hogan previously said the changes were made to maintain the parents' right to know. He said if a child requests an informal pronoun change from their teacher, and declines to include their parents, using that pronoun is tantamount to "keeping secrets." He said teachers shouldn't be keeping parents in the dark.

Keating said the narrative around these policy changes has harmed the relationship between parents and teachers.