School division defies Alberta government
EDMONTON• An Alberta school division has voted to defy the education minister and not submit a policy on transgender and other sexual minority students.
Dale Lederer, a trustee with the Fort Vermilion School Division, confirmed to The Canadian Press that the decision was made by the board at a meeting on Jan. 18.
“The board voted unanimously to leave the policy the way that it was, which they felt already protected all students,” Lederer said Thursday.
Lederer declined to comment further board chairman Clark McAskile could not be immediately reached for comment.
“We’re following up with them for more information,” said Jeremy Nolais, spokesman for Education Minister Dave Eggen. “We’re trying to finalize a meeting with them and the minister soon, probably in the next two weeks.”
Nolais said the department hasn’t heard of any other school divisions declining to work with the province on policies due by March 31.
Eggen has a number of options to sanction school boards that do not follow government directives. One of them is to dissolve the boards. He has never said he would do so over the LGBTQ policy, but has added he always keeps his options open.
“The minister has said, and we maintain, that we believe we can work collaboratively with boards,” said Nolais.
“We want to talk to Fort Vermilion and address any concerns they have about these guidelines and hope we can come to some common ground.”
Fort Vermilion is a sprawling, public school division tucked away in the northwest corner of the province. It includes the municipalities of High Level and Fort Vermilion.
It and Alberta’s other 60 school boards have been directed by Eggen to write draft policies to make schools safer and more accepting of LGBTQ students.
The province has suggested policies that include allowing students to join sports teams, dress and use washrooms based on their sexual identity or on what they perceive their gender to be.
Schools would not be allowed to inform parents of a student’s decision on those matters. Eggen has declined to say which, if any, of the guidelines must be strictly adhered to, which can be honoured in a conceptual sense and which can simply be honoured in spirit.