EDMONTON — Edmonton Public Schools wants other school boards in Alberta to follow its lead and make it a policy to support students and staff who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered.
The board passed a motion Wednesday night calling on the Alberta School Boards Association to work with other boards to develop a policy similar to one it approved last month.
Sarah Hoffman, vice-chairwoman of Edmonton Public Schools, said it’s important for school boards to show leadership through policies that support all students and staff.
“We think it would be great if all other districts in the province got on board and did the same to ensure that sexual-minority staff and students feel safe and protected in our schools,” Hoffman said Thursday.
The motion is to be discussed by a group of school boards at a meeting on April 29. If that group endorses it, the motion will then be debated and put to a vote at the Alberta School Boards Association’s annual general meeting in November.
The association represents 62 school boards in Alberta, including 16 Catholic school boards.
The Greater St. Albert Catholic School District is currently the subject of an Alberta Human Rights complaint filed by a transgendered teacher who was fired in 2008 over his sexual orientation.
The board said it dismissed substitute teacher Jan Buterman because he didn’t reflect the values of the Catholic church.
Jacquie Hansen, president of the school boards association, said all boards in the province have students and staff that include sexual minorities and the motion brought forward by Edmonton Public Schools needs to be discussed.
But she said it is too early to say whether the association can come up with a policy that all the boards can live with.
“I think this an issue that all boards, regardless of their designation, are likely facing. Could it be controversial? Perhaps,” Hansen said.
Under association rules, 60 per cent of school boards representing at least 60 per cent of the student population would have to approve the motion for it to become policy.
Even then the policy wouldn’t be an enforceable rule, but a publicly stated belief statement.
“The ASBA can’t mandate anything because we are a member-driven organization,” she said.
“We have the debate, and through that democratic process you are hopeful that you are going to get some kind of statement that works for everybody.”