The head of the local Catholic school board says there are extremely rare cases in which the board might not share a student's pronoun change with the student's family.
St. Clair Catholic Director of Education Scott Johnson said there can be times when some trans and gender-diverse students are not "out" at home because of safety concerns and other reasons.
"So where a school has a belief that disclosing the student's diverse status to the family could cause harm to the student, the school takes steps to safeguard the diverse status," he said.
Johnson said if an educator does believe a student may be at risk for harm at home, one of the steps may be to continue to work with the student to support them to engage their parents in the conversation.
"But at the end of the day, if the student was believed to be at risk then the school would not share the preferred pronoun," he said. "And if the student was believed to be at risk from injury at home, then we would contact Children's Aid Services like we would any other time we thought a student might be at risk."
In August, prior to the start of the new school year, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said “parents must be fully involved” if their child chooses to use a different pronoun at school.
Johnson said the example Lecce cites, in which the school board wouldn't be a part of sharing that, is extremely rare. Johnson also said the board's policy does not prohibit school staff from disclosing certain details to parents about a student's gender identity.
"We embrace each student on a case by case basis, and ideally we would want to engage and support students and their parents while students strive to understand their own sense of self, including their own sense of identity," said Johnson. "In cases where it's believed that a student might be at risk of harm from their parents, we follow our board's procedures."
Johnson said first and foremost, the most important thing that guides the board's actions is the safety of every student.
"Trans and gender-diverse individuals have the right to be openly who they want to be, and this includes expressing their gender identity, without any fear of unwanted consequences. And they are also allowed to be treated with respect and dignity," he said. "We recognize that students often question their own sexual identity, and we want to work with our students to support them in doing so."
Johnson said their work must align with the Education Act, the Human Rights Code, the Safe Schools Act, and the board's strategic plan.
Johnson said they are open and transparent with their parents, who are valued partners in educating a child, and they hope to engage them. He said working in concert with the student and the family to come to a common understanding is our ultimate goal.
The Lambton Kent District School Board is currently working on procedures to support gender identity and gender expression, according to the board's director of education, John Howitt.
"The LKDSB follows the Ontario Human Rights Code to support the dignity of all individuals and is committed to working with students, parents and guardians to ensure that students have the supports they need for academic achievement and well-being," Howitt said in an email to SarniaNewsToday.ca.
Howitt added that all LKDSB staff have specific policies, procedures, and protocols that they are required to follow if they believe a child may be harmed.