Parent Testimonial

On April 17, 2023, my son informed me that the curriculum material on gender identity and sexual orientation was taught in his Grade 7 Health class. Several students left the class to call their parents, one stayed but did not complete the assignment, and the rest complied. My son told me he felt very uncomfortable but completed the assignment because he was concerned he would get in trouble if he left the class. Once he informed me, I emailed the principal inquiring why the consent form was not sent home. The principal told me that consent was no longer required for the grade 7-12 Health curriculum.

On April 18, I reviewed the Health curriculum for the Public Schools Branch. It stated that parental consent was required to teach the sex education section of the curriculum and that sexual orientation and gender identity were not introduced until grade 8. I emailed the principal again, summarizing our initial conversation and asking if the posted curriculum was the one currently used. She referred me to the curriculum coordinator for Health and Physical Education. I was informed by the Coordinator that the Health curriculum that was posted online was outdated and that the new curriculum was still in draft form. I requested a copy of the new curriculum, and the Coordinator was unsure if the draft copy could be “legally” given to me. This individual agreed that there should have been more transparency and that the letter should have been sent to parents to inform them of the material that would be covered.

On April 19, I called the Department of Education and spoke to the Director of English Education, Programs and Services. She knew about my conversation with the Health and Physical Education Curriculum Coordinator. She took “full responsibility” for the outdated curriculum still being posted online, stating that:

1. It was a “miss” that the outdated curriculum had not been removed.
2. My son’s teacher should have sent a letter informing parents what material would be covered and when.
3. It was not “uncommon” to use draft material to teach from, but generally, when the old curriculum is removed from the Department’s website, the new one is made available immediately.

She offered explanations on why it was taking so long to finalize the draft curriculum, attributing some delays to Covid. I followed up on our conversation with an email summarizing our discussion and requesting a copy of the draft curriculum.

On April 21, the Director of English Education, Programs and Services responded to my follow-up email stating that she could only provide me a copy of the draft curriculum once it was edited and informing me that the outdated Health curriculum had been removed from the Department’s website until the new curriculum was ready for publishing. She stated that this isn’t their usual practice, so a mandatory information letter would go out to parents from now on regarding the taught Health curriculum. Please note that as of April 30, the outdated Grade 7 Health curriculum is still available online, stating, “Sexual health outcomes may only be taught with written permission from parents/guardians.