Last Friday and Tuesday afternoon, protests were held outside of OCDSB schools and the Administration Building. In both cases, the protesters were expressing concern about how the school district is recognizing and protecting gender identity and gender expression rights in schools.
We respect and support the role of parents and caregivers to instruct on the beliefs connected to a creed or religion. We will not engage in instructing or directing actions or practices connected to specific beliefs, identities or perspectives. Our teaching is focused on understanding, respecting and accepting each other so that we can promote kindness and inclusion and combat hate and discrimination in all forms. We will continue to work closely with students, parents, community members, and faith leaders to discuss these issues and find peaceful paths forward.
Our first response when dealing with protests is to ensure the safety and security of the students and staff. We put active safety plans in place, add resources to help monitor and manage the situation, and work with the Ottawa Police Service to address safety concerns as required.
While we respect the right to peacefully protest, we are concerned about the increasing trend to target schools as places of protest. This not only creates safety concerns, it also takes the time and focus away from student learning.
The OCDSB, like other Ontario school districts, is responsible for implementing the Ministry of Education Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy. This strategy establishes curriculum requirements for schools to teach about human rights based on the Ontario Human Rights Code. A key goal of this work is to help students understand human rights and to teach about respecting and valuing the dignity, worth and inclusion of all students -
“ all students, parents, caregivers, and other members of the school community – regardless of ancestry, culture, ethnicity, sex, physical or intellectual ability, race, religion, creed, gender identity, gender expression, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, or other factors – are welcomed, included, treated fairly, and respected.”
Discussions about human rights are complex. Gender Identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation are among the grounds protected from discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights Code. The OCDSB procedure that explains how we manage these rights and work to build inclusive schools can be found at this link. In response to questions we have received, the OCDSB has not put in place a mandatory requirement on the use of any particular pronouns for students. We ask that staff members use students' identified pronouns and, where they are unsure, to consider adopting a practice of using "they/them".
The protests have been stressful and some individuals may be more impacted than others, in particular members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Additional community resources to support members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community are available here.
Our commitment is to promote inclusivity, and to combat racism, ableism, transphobia, homophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, and all forms of discrimination or hate.
It’s clear there is more work to be done to promote human rights and to share information about the way these issues are managed in schools. We remain committed to working with the community and to engaging in dialogue on these issues.