Catholic trustees concerned bill is ‘erosion of autonomy’

The Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association says it is concerned two aspects of legislation introduced by the NDP to protect the privacy of students in gay-straight alliances could have “unintended consequences.”

In its first statement since the NDP introduced Bill 24, an Act to Support Gay-Straight Alliances, the association representing Catholic school trustees across Alberta said Monday it believes the bill could erode local school board and school official autonomy. The legislation would stop school staff from informing parents their child had joined a GSA without the child’s consent.

“One of our main concerns with Bill 24 is the diminishment of the role of school governing bodies, particularly the elected school boards and school superintendents,” the association said in a statement.

The trustees also feel the bill puts undue pressure “on the school principal to be, in effect, the sole decision maker who is only accountable to the minister of education, bypassing long-entrenched best practices and chains of authority as outlined in the School Act.”

Automatically requiring approval for a GSA also undermines the school principal’s “ability to perform their role in an effective and responsible manner at the school and community level.”

The organization also said it wants clarification on what information can be withheld from parents, saying schools should avoid a “blanket refusal to communicate” to parents.

United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney has said UCP MLAs will vote against Bill 24.

Calgary’s Catholic school board said Bill 24 fits with its current policy of not notifying parents about GSA membership.

Fort McMurray’s Catholic school district also said the bill aligns with its policies.