Prior to a provincial deadline of March 31, Airdrie schools put the final touches on policy mandated by Alberta Education meant to protect LGBTQ student rights.
Though Rocky View Schools (RVS) Superintendent of Schools Don Hoium wouldn’t detail specific LGBTQ policies adopted by the division prior to a board meeting scheduled April 7, he said submitted guidelines would fall in line with the RVS Respectful Working and Learning Environments policy.
“We will have a procedure that will be presented publicly at the next board meeting,” he said. “It will fall under the broader umbrella of (our existing policy).”
In the existing policy, in place since 1998, RVS ensures protection from harassment on grounds of “sexual orientation, including LGBTQ.”
RVS will be required to adopt additional policy mandated by Alberta Education in guidelines released Jan. 13. The guidelines were outlined to help develop policy, according to Education Minister David Eggen.
“The (LGBTQ policies) came in response to requests from school boards seeking some guidance in an area that was unfamiliar to them,” he said in an email to the Airdrie City View. “They are a tool to help school boards as they develop their policy.
“That being said, school authorities are required to follow the law, including the Alberta Human Rights Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as well as the School Act.”
As part of the guidelines, Alberta Education mandated schools provide as least one single stall washroom and allow transgender students to access washrooms congruent with their gender identity.
Private schools, such as Airdrie Koinonia Christian School (AKCS), are exempt from the mandatory adoption of the policy, though Eggen previously noted the guidelines could help administrators develop their individual policy. Representatives from AKCS did not provide comments by press time.
École francophone d’Airdrie is part of the FrancoSud school division, which was established in 2013. According to Jacqueline Lessard, FrancoSud superintendent, being a new school division meant many LGBTQ protections were already in place.
“Two years ago, we created an inclusive communities policy that included gender identity as well as expression,” she said. “So we were already ahead of the game. What we decided to do this year was really study the new legislation and make sure our policies were fine. We just needed to add to our administrative procedure to make sure it conformed to the regulations.”
FrancoSud will incorporate plans for inclusive bathrooms in upcoming school builds, including three currently underway. At École francophone d’Airdrie, which opened in 2014, it will be easy to incorporate inclusive bathrooms, according to Lessard.
“It’s easy enough to adjust new schools, including École francophone,” she said. “The bathrooms are more accessible. It’s easy for us to work with that and find inclusive bathrooms. That’s a little more difficult in some of our older schools. But that work is in place now.”
