A homophobic letter from an Aklavik household questioning Beaufort Delta District Education Council’s policy on LGBTQ2S+ inclusion was misinformed, according BDDEC administration; and staff from BDDEC are following up on it to ensure parents understand how the policy does and does not affect children in the school system.
BDDEC superintendent Frank Galway told the council during its Feb 18-19 2021 Annual General Meeting that administration had received a letter from a parent citing several concerns with pro-LGTBQ2S+ lessons in the curriculum.
He added that he felt the author had not done adequate research. While the author of the letter was not named, Galway read the letter into the record.
"The fact is that according to the law schools should not be promoting the beliefs of any one group over another," reads the letter, "When a school begin to prosthelytize an LGBTQ(sic) lifestyle to children they are abusing the power and position of educating."
The letter goes on to question the curriculum's motivations and claims it discriminates against families that "do not believe in same-sex relationships."
Galway said BDDEC would need to engage in more outreach with parents to explain the human rights portions of the curriculum and that no portion of the curriculum encourages students to move towards one type of sexuality or another — it simply encourages students to accept each other regardless.
"The health curriculum is well written and was vetted through human rights and lawyers," he added.
Guidelines on LGBTQ2S+ Equity, Safety and Inclusion in the NWT came into effect in 2020.
Noting research has shown that LGBTQ2S+ students tend to experience significantly more mental health issues, risks of suicide and drop-out rates, the guidelines provide sample inclusive dress codes, literature on how to support a student-led Gay-Straight Alliance, which is a safe social space for kids to gather and socialize and discuss relevant issues to LGBTQ2s+ students. It also includes guidelines for working with students with fluid gender identities.
The guidelines were developed in response to feedback from students themselves at the first NWT Rainbow Youth Conference, which was held in Yellowknife March 6-10 in 2017. LGBTQ2S+ youth from across the NWT came together to collaborate on a number of art projects to express a message of inclusiveness.
Assistant Supt. Devin Roberts noted that as the new human rights guidelines only came into effect in 2020, more outreach was needed to ensure parents understood what the policy was.
"It's important for people to become educated on it," he said. "They need to be aware of grade levels and how the curriculum rolls out and there's a whole slew of things I don't think that letter has been informed by.
"So we need to get the word out for everyone, not just this person."
Galway said the board would pass the issue on to a working group but added he was going to respond to the letter on behalf of the board.
He pointed out the curriculum and the human rights policies were part of the Education Act and the board was obligated to teach the curriculum as determined by the legislature.
"We have to follow all legislation," he said. "It is about giving students a safe place to express themselves and giving them an opportunity to understand that individuals, regardless of their gender identification, have rights and we have to provide those safe places at schools.
"So it is concerning the public would be questioning the human rights of children."
Other stakeholders chimed in, expressing their concerns about the complaints and asking the board to expand outreach to parents to make sure they're aware of the importance for the policy.
"I feel sad for the students of Aklavik if this is the environment that may be a part of," said BDDEC Vice Chair Jenn Parrott. "I hope we can all rally together as a school community in response to this and help with some information."