Education Minister Dustin Duncan has announced new parental inclusion and consent policies for Saskatchewan schools in response to an incident involving sexually explicit materials Planned Parenthood displayed at Lumsden High School on June 19.
During its presentation, Planned Parenthood displayed graphic sexual vocabulary playing cards featuring each alphabet letter. As a result, on June 22, Duncan suspended the organization from presenting in schools and said the ministry would review all sexual education information to ensure it was age appropriate.
As part of the new policies announced on Aug. 22:
- Schools must seek parent/guardian permission when changing the preferred name and pronouns used by students under the age of 16 in the school
- Parents/guardians must be informed about the sexual health education curriculum and have the option to decline their children’s participation
- Boards of education must immediately pause involvement with any third-party organization — such as ARC Foundation and the SOGI 1 2 3 Program — connected to sexual health education, as the ministry reviews educational resources to ensure alignment with curriculum outcomes
Only teachers — not outside third parties — can present sexual education materials in the classroom, the ministry said. This directive does not include professionals employed by government ministries or the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
“Our government has heard the concerns raised by Saskatchewan parents about needing to be notified and included in their children’s education in these important areas,” Duncan said.
“We also determined that while all of Saskatchewan’s school divisions had policies dealing with these matters, those policies varied from one division to another, so it was important to standardize these policies and ensure consistency of parental inclusion, no matter where your child goes to school.”
“Parent/guardian involvement is critical in every student’s education,” Duncan continued. “Schools will continue to ensure safe learning environments where all students feel included, protected and respected.”
Parent/guardian consent for students under 16 will now be required to change a student’s name or pronouns in the school. For students 16 and over, parent/guardian consent is not required.
In response to these new policies, Lori Johb, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, gave a one-sentence statement: “Outing children as part of a political gamble is violent and despicable.”
Meanwhile, NDP leader Carla Beck said, “We don’t support outing vulnerable kids, which is what this policy will force schools to do. This will lead to worse mental health outcomes for vulnerable kids and, ultimately, more self-harm and suicide.
“A blanket ban on groups helping deliver sex education is an overreaction to what happened in Lumsden,” she continued.
“Parents have always been able to opt out of sensitive matters in their kids’ classrooms, and this ban will lead to fewer kids getting access to evidence-based sex education – which we need, given that Saskatchewan has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and STIs (sexually transmitted infections).”
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