There is no concrete policy for support of transgender children in area schools today, said Aynsley Graham, MSc, BA, behavioral consultant at the June 19 Pembina Hills School Board Meeting.
She asked that a policy be included in the School Board’s next annual general meeting and spoke about the struggles one student is experiencing as they transition.
“We are tolerating that this child is gender creative, and we are tolerating that we will use pronouns that the child prefers. Fantastic start,” said Graham.
“What we see is this area called the hidden curriculum where educators do not say anything negative about a child, but they don’t address the situation.”
Graham has seen teachers who aren’t sure what to say in these specific incidents when children have questions or parents ask questions.
“We are in this really uncomfortable place where we say, 'Yes, this child is accepted. Of course we would never turn this child away.'”
“Of course, we want to support them. Of course they are safe in our schools. We aren’t having real conversations about what that looks like,” stated Graham.
Graham talked about moving to a sense of belonging for transgender children.
There are no people who have come out for children to talk to, and children do not see similar people in books or in discussions about families.
She identified the struggles of a transgender child as feelings of being alone and different and no one knows how to talk about it. These children will be a target for ridicule from other people in the community, Graham said.
“To my knowledge there is no approved list of books that explain gender by the government.”
A parent of a transgender child spoke in support of the request, saying, “There are things we could be doing better in our community and our schools.”
The parent reached out and met with experts, school leaders, community leaders, and daycare leaders.
The parent explained that they heard from schools saying they are hesitant to put books in the classroom that show gay or transgender students because there is no policy from Pembina Hills.
The parent stated that the division needs a policy, recognizing that it is a political situation, is hard to do and that we don’t know what will be happening with the provincial policy around transgender kids, which is expected to be released this fall.
The parent clarified that “the policy should include ways to educate our educators on these topics so they can provide the best education for our kids and make it safe places for our children”.
They went on to say, “not all homes are safe places and without support these children have a higher chance of suicide without proper support”.
Another parent spoke to support the need for a policy in a similar manner to what has been put in place for Indigenous children saying they were disappointed that Pembina Hills had not taken the initiative to put a policy in place as St. Albert had done.
“This is the first time a delegation has come forward to the board. We have heard about this from different schools,” said board chair Judy Lefebvre.
