Regina Public Schools (RPS) stated the current and former education ministers did not inquire about school guidelines involving transgender students. This led the Saskatchewan government to introduce Bill 137 the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act, commonly known as the pronoun policy.RPS said former education minister Dustin Duncan and the current minister Jeremy Cockrill did not request a copy of the new school guidelines which RPS introduced in the previous school year.RPS stated the guideline contains a rule instructing staff not to reveal a student's gender unless they have the student's consent or if there's a safety issue.The RPS guideline states “every student has the right to be addressed by a name or pronoun that corresponds to their gender identity.” RPS staff are to “respect confidentiality and privacy and not disclose sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression of students unless the student has given permission or there is an impending safety concern.”Cockrill mentioned the RPS guideline was the reason why the province introduced the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act.“When you have one school division that comes forward and is explicitly excluding parents in reporting discussions involving their children when we talk about the impetus for Bill 137, that really was the impetus,” said Cockrill.Cockrill pointed out the guideline suggests parents might not be informed, and the government wanted to clarify parents should be told.The Parents’ Bill of Rights Act requires parents to be told if their child under the age of 16 wants to use a different name or pronouns at school. The parents also have to give consent.Premier Scott Moe’s government is using the notwithstanding clause to override the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to prevent a court from overturning the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act.
Regina Public Schools (RPS) stated the current and former education ministers did not inquire about school guidelines involving transgender students. This led the Saskatchewan government to introduce Bill 137 the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act, commonly known as the pronoun policy.RPS said former education minister Dustin Duncan and the current minister Jeremy Cockrill did not request a copy of the new school guidelines which RPS introduced in the previous school year.RPS stated the guideline contains a rule instructing staff not to reveal a student's gender unless they have the student's consent or if there's a safety issue.The RPS guideline states “every student has the right to be addressed by a name or pronoun that corresponds to their gender identity.” RPS staff are to “respect confidentiality and privacy and not disclose sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression of students unless the student has given permission or there is an impending safety concern.”Cockrill mentioned the RPS guideline was the reason why the province introduced the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act.“When you have one school division that comes forward and is explicitly excluding parents in reporting discussions involving their children when we talk about the impetus for Bill 137, that really was the impetus,” said Cockrill.Cockrill pointed out the guideline suggests parents might not be informed, and the government wanted to clarify parents should be told.The Parents’ Bill of Rights Act requires parents to be told if their child under the age of 16 wants to use a different name or pronouns at school. The parents also have to give consent.Premier Scott Moe’s government is using the notwithstanding clause to override the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to prevent a court from overturning the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act.
