Equity Policy Update - Sexual Orientation Strand
For those of you who do not access the Internet and receive our regular updates, you may be wondering where the Hamilton-Wentworth Family Action Council (HWFAC) has gone? We have fallen behind with our newsletter with the last one being March 2007. Our fight against the school board’s anti-homophobic/anti-heterosexist policy has been intense and has not allowed us the time to prepare our newsletter.
Since March we have run two workshops for those who were concerned with the sexualization of their children, one Pastors’ training session to assist them in speaking at a school board community session, one strategy session where we strategized to design effective questions for individuals/ organizations to submit to the Board to be answered at a Community Session, and sent several e-mail alerts encouraging people to respond with letters of concern which were received by the Steering Committee. In addition to the above, we have attended each monthly steering committee session at the Board. It has been very intense and this strand of the Equity Policy will be in front of Trustees for final approval as early as December. We began addressing this concern when it first appeared as an agenda item at the Board in February of 2004 and so have fought for almost 4 years. Has it been worth it?
In many ways it has been worth the fight. The Board is now very much aware of the concerns that Judeo-Christian principled families have with a policy that could label them as ‘homophobic’ or ‘heterosexist’. It is a policy that could be used to legitimize permeating the curriculum in all subject areas at all grade levels with homosexual/bi-sexual affirmation and elevate those who practice homosexual/bisexual conduct to hero status. As written, it will allow the Lesbian-Gay-Bi-sexual-Transgendered (LGBT) community opportunity to remove all barriers (yet to be identified) which are perceived to prevent LGBT community from full participation in school programs.
During the recent Community Session at which 13 probing questions were submitted from HWFAC supporters, one of the questions read, “The draft policy discusses the LGBT identifying ‘barriers’ to be removed. Will this lead to Gay Straight Alliance Clubs, Gay Pride Week celebrations in the schools, homosexual dances and the like?” The response, “It may.”
A second question asked was, “Will all parents be notified prior to classroom discussions or school events regarding sexual orientation related issues by means of mandatory permission slips and will families who withdraw their children from such activities be labeled homophobic or heterosexist?” The response, “We are not sure at this time.”
When this issue was first raised in February of 2004, we stayed at the Board meeting until late into the evening for public question period and posed the following question, “How will my family and families of like belief systems, have their belief system respected and protected and be assured that their belief system that we are instilling in our homes will not be contradicted in the classroom?” The response, “This is a weighty question, we have no response at this time. We acknowledge this to be a very difficult point but can offer no assurances.” Almost four years later, at this November’s Community Session a similar question was posed,
“The current draft Section 10.4 reads as follows: The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board will provide staff development to assist all staff in creating physically, emotionally, socially, intellectually and spiritually safe learning environments for all students.
As parents of faith-based families, we recognize that people are made of three components: body, mind and spirit (or soul). Our faith teaches that homosexuality is a conduct with physical, emotional, social and spiritual consequences. That being the case, how will these safe learning environments defined in Section 10.4 be enforced for our children? “ The school board response, “We are not sure. This will be decided at the implementation stage.”
In terms of assurances, nothing has really changed over the past 4 years of this intense battle; however, the Board is very much aware through meetings, presentations and correspondence of our legitimate concerns regarding the physical, emotional and spiritual health of our children and we truly hope they are sincerely weighing it in the balance. If you are concerned, please take the time right now to express it by calling Associate Director Chuck Reid at 905-527-5092 ext. 2304 or e-mail him at chuck.reid@hwdsb.on.ca. Also, contact you Trustee and speak with your child’s teacher.
We encourage each one of you to make a call, send an e-mail and encourage others to do the same, but first and foremost please pray for God’s intervention into this very serious situation. Time is running out.