School year wraps up with bitterness and uncertainty among teachers

The New Brunswick school year is wrapping up this week with uncertainty concerning changes to Policy 713.

Gender-identity policy changes come into effect on July 1 and teachers still don't know if they'll be forced to say no to a child's request to informally use a different name and pronoun without parental consent.

They also don't know whether they'll face consequences if they do use a child's chosen pronoun, and they still don't have a collective agreement.

On top of that, some district education councils have adopted differing policies. Anglophone South and East passed policy amendments mandating school staff respect all students' informal chosen names and pronouns, regardless of parental consent or age. Official name and pronoun changes for kids under 16 have always required parental signoff, even before the review.

Connie Keating, the president of the New Brunswick Teachers Association, said the union's relationship with this government has been "bitter."

"It's unsettling. We don't know where we're going to be come fall," she told Information Morning Fredericton.

"Over the summer, will we be able to get a collective agreement? Will we find ourselves on the picket line? Those are not the questions we want to be asking. We really want to be focused on student learning."

Keating declined to explain the sticking points in contract negotiations because they're now in the middle of a conciliation process with mediators. She said the union and the employer submitted briefs to a conciliation board, which is expected to deliver a report in mid-July.

2 education council policies differ from province's

Earlier this month, Education Minister Bill Hogan announced changes to Policy 713, which outlines basic protections for LGBTQ students. 

Hogan said one of the changes effectively bans teachers and staff from using a child under 16's chosen name and pronoun informally, unless the child gets parental consent first. And if the child doesn't want to address this with parents, they're to be "directed" to a school psychologist or social worker to come up with a plan to speak to their parents. 

The union representing those mental health professionals has filed a  grievance over these policy changes, saying the policy is not clear and it makes them complicit in harming children.

The New Brunswick Association of School Psychologists said denying a child's right to identity is against the New Brunswick Human Rights Act, and it also causes psychological harm.

Minister Hogan previously said the changes were made to maintain the parents' right to know. He said if a child requests an informal pronoun change from their teacher, and declines to include their parents, using that pronoun is tantamount to "keeping secrets." He said teachers shouldn't be keeping parents in the dark.

Keating said the narrative around these policy changes has harmed the relationship between parents and teachers. 

"We feel that it's tried to paint teachers and parents on opposite sides of the issue. And not only has it done that, there seems to have been a conscious effort to undermine the trust that teachers hold with their students," she said.

"Parents and teachers, we are partners and children's education and their well-being, and this is not where we should be."

The people involved in creating this policy, including district education councils and and mental health experts, say the intention of the policy is to provide a safe space for students to be themselves without fear. Not all parents are supportive, and children should be able to trust that they won't be reported to parents if they confide in a teacher.

Rob Fowler, who was the chair of Anglophone South education council for years, said the goal is to protect children above all else. He said he knew of a student who was engaged with school work but started to change, became sullen and his marks went down.

"He said, 'Well I came out to my parents, they threw me out of the house, so I'm living in a park.' That's the child we're trying to protect," Fowler told Shift N.B.

"We shouldn't be outing kids who by very nature are not feeling comfortable enough to tell their parents but they have found a safe place in the school." 

Fowler said the local policies passed by the district education councils are stronger, and typically, district staff follow the stronger policy. 

"I hope that teachers and staff will follow that," he said. 

The Anglophone West council is expected to meet in a few weeks to decide whether to follow suit. Francophone Nord-Ouest said it has no plans to change Policy 713. The remaining education councils did not respond to CBC's request for information.

An opposition motion passed in legislature mandating that child and youth advocate Kelly Lamrock review the changes to Policy 713. He's expected to make recommendations on Aug. 15, but nothing he recommends will be binding.