Petition: Remove Secrecy Policies at TVDSB
Petition: Remove Secrecy Policies at TVDSB
Please sign this petition and share widely!
Please sign CPAL’s petition to request that TVDSB remove its parental secrecy policies.
Sign here:
https://www.change.org/p/restore-parental-rights-at-the-thames-valley-district-school-board
This petition was created without prejudice, bias, and discrimination to any country, group, race, culture, gender, ethnicity, or religion.
In the education system, it is crucial to uphold the rights of parents and guardians. When school boards instruct teachers and administrators to withhold information from parents, it fosters an atmosphere of distrust that harms the relationship between families and the school system. It is also against the law. Therefore, it is essential to eliminate any policies within the Thames Valley School Board that promote the idea of teachers keeping anything related to their students a secret from parents.
The “TVDSB Guideline For Inclusive Learning Cultures: Supporting Trans and Gender Diverse Students & Staff” currently includes multiple passages that advocate for schools to withhold information from parents. These passages* can be found on pages 5, 6, and 7.
The rights of parents to direct, and to be fully informed about, all aspects of their children’s education is entrenched in international law, Canadian constitutional law, and provincial law. The current guidelines contravene the following laws:
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Section 7. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, G.A. Res. 217 A (III), U.N. Doc. A/810 (1948) states in Article 26(3): Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 999 U.N.T.S. 171, to which Canada is a signatory, states in Article 18(4): The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.
The Supreme Court of Canada in Loyola High School v. Quebec (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 12 (paragraph 65), affirmed that Article 18(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is applicable in Canada. The ruling states:
“Parents, religious or otherwise, have the constitutional right under s. 2(a) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to determine all aspects of their children’s education, including the moral education of their children. Like all rights, parental rights are subject to reasonable limits. For example, parents do not enjoy a constitutional right to require the public school curriculum to align with the cultural, moral, and religious values they desire to pass down to their children. Rather, the right to determine all aspects of a child’s education manifests itself in the right to school choice and the right to be informed.” Supreme Court Decision – Loyola High School vs Quebec.The Human Rights Code: “Family status” is protected rights under the Ontario Human Rights Code. “Family status” is defined as “the status of being in a parent and child relationship.”
THEREFORE, we, the undersigned, parents/guardians and community members, call upon the Thames Valley Board of Trustees and Director to immediately remove any wording from all school policies and guidelines documents that suggest schools should withhold information from parents.
*Passages from “TVDSB Guideline For Inclusive Learning Cultures: Supporting Trans and Gender Diverse Students & Staff”
Page 5/6, Section 4:
Privacy. All students have a right to privacy; schools must keep a student’s trans/gender diverse status confidential. Therefore, school staff should not disclose a student’s trans/gender diverse status to others that do not have access to the student’s Ontario Student Record without explicit consent from the student (e.g., to fulfill a specific accommodation request)
Some trans and gender diverse students are not out openly at home because of safety and or other reasons. A school should never disclose a student’s gender diversity or trans status to the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s), other students, staff or other parties without the student’s explicit prior consent. When school staff contacts the home of a trans or gender diverse student, the student should be consulted first to determine an appropriate way to reference the student’s gender identity. If students have first disclosed their gender diverse and/or trans status to staff, it is strongly suggested that staff privately ask trans or gender diverse students at the beginning of the school year how they want to be addressed in correspondence to the home or at meetings with the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s).
Page 6
Official Records. The school will change a student’s official records to reflect a change in legal name upon receipt of documentation that such legal name has been changed. The school will change a student’s official records to reflect a change in gender upon request from the student in question. Parental / guardian consent is not required to make this change, regardless of the age of the child. Schools must always consult with the student about how official records such as report cards are shared, as these documents may inadvertently out the student.
Page 7
Preferred Names and Pronouns. Preferred names may be used in the comments section of report cards in order to facilitate the affirmation of identity. Legal documentation is not required to use preferred names in the comments section. The school must consult with the student about how report cards are shared, as the use of a preferred name may inadvertently out the student. Names/Pronouns. Trans and gender diverse students have the right to be addressed by an affirmed name and pronoun corresponding to their gender identity. A student’s pronouns may change several times and schools must affirm the student’s evolving identity throughout this fluid process. Staff must use a student’s affirmed pronoun (e.g. he, she, they - a gender-neutral singular pronoun) or other pronoun as requested by the student. This is true regardless of whether the student has obtained a court ordered name or gender change. For example, under the Ontario Trillium school identification system, a student’s “preferred or chosen name” and a change of gender can be used on class lists, timetables, etc. Intentionally addressing a student by the incorrect name or pronoun will be considered a form of discrimination. While it is understood that inadvertent slips or honest mistakes may occur, the intentional and/or persistent refusal to acknowledge or use a student’s gender identity is unacceptable.
Share this petition because it matters to you, and you may be surprised by how many others around you care about Parental Rights too!
It seems the current government (that will soon be ousted) has been making it their business to attack all aspects of Charter Rights.
I really like the The Supreme Court quote above: “Parents, religious or otherwise, have the constitutional right under s. 2(a) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to determine all aspects of their children’s education."
SOME judges still know the law.
Keep that important evidence and copy into your school board letters!
The ability of any child “regardless of their age” to make changes to official records without parent consent disregards scientific data and research in child brain development. Some of the youngest learners in year 1 (JK) of kindergarten could still be 3 years old until the end of December when they begin school. A young child does not have capacity to understand long-term consequences. This is alarming that more educators are not questioning this policy.