School board to revisit Pride motion
Trustees who voted no to celebrations cite lack of clarity as reason for opposition
REGINA Confusion and ambiguity over what comes next gave way to fear for some members of the public after defeat of a motion supporting Pride celebrations in Regina Public Schools.
“I think people were hoping for something set in stone that would ensure the rights of Regina Public School students to continue celebrating Pride at a school level — and that wasn’t done,” said Jacq Brasseur, executive director of UR Pride after Tuesday’s school board meeting. “I think that scares a lot of LGBT students.”
The motion, brought forward by trustee Aleana Young, called for the division to “recognize and support” Pride week and fly the Pride flag for a week every June.
Young noted schools are already doing this, celebrating Pride in a way that each school sees fit. She said the intent was not to mandate Pride celebrations, as some trustees had interpreted the motion, but to formally protect the rights of the schools to keep doing what they are doing.
“I thought that it would be a simple matter of our public school division sending a message from the top that Pride celebrations are fine and something we support as we do with multicultural festivals, as we do with reconciliation and treaty education,” she said after the meeting. “I’m disappointed and heartbroken.”
Young wasn’t the only one. Tears and anger flooded the room, as did shouts of “coward.” Some called passionately to pass the motion in spirit and figure the details out later.
Although confusion over the motion’s wording and intention among trustees led to its failure, the board verbally committed to further discussions to “get it right.”
Each trustee who voted no cited a lack of clarity and detail in the motion as their reason for opposition, and emphasized they don’t oppose Pride celebrations or support for LGBTQ2S students.
No formal motion was passed. However, talk turned of sending the issue to a committee or senior staff to flesh out the details of what “recognize and support” Pride week would mean in terms of policy.
They would also examine if a policy that standardizes Pride celebrations among schools is something the public wants.
For Brasseur, getting it right means consulting experts and urged a committee “of people who are experts in working with LGBT communities, who are knowledgeable in education systems and what it means to bring forward LGBT inclusion in school.”
Brasseur also lamented a missed opportunity for an amendment requiring the board to return with an update in a set time frame to hold the trustees accountable.
It’s the ambiguity about next steps and when that has people fearful the issue will fall by the wayside and leave Pride celebrations vulnerable.
“For some people this motion felt like a level of protection against the potential fear of a future motion that would ban Pride,” Brasseur said.
Amid emotional outbursts, board chairperson Katherine Gagne attempted to provide assurances the decision doesn’t change how schools currently celebrate Pride and support LGBTQ2S students, and that further work on the issue will happen.