The Red Deer Public School board has said no to nude models.
Art instructors at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School had proposed introducing a figure drawing course in the fall that would have required nude models posing for students.
The course was created and used by an arts high school in Edmonton, and the Red Deer school district had obtained permission to adapt it, said district deputy superintendent Pieter Langstraat.
But trustees decided this week not to allow the drawing component that requires unclothed models. While parental consent forms could have been issued for students young than 18, and the art classes could have been held before or after regular school hours, or in a secure location on the school site, the school board just wasn’t comfortable with introducing nude models to high school students.
Langstraat said trustees always ask themselves, when considering a new activity or field trip, whether it’s something they want for their students. And in this case, the answer was no, he added.