Sexualities, Gender Identities, and Systemic School District Change

Abstract

Sexualities, gender identities, and systemic school district change Context and ObjectivesIn the last two years (2016)(2017)(2018), British Columbia (as well as the rest of Canada and the US) has seen a significant change in law and policy in relation to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, Two Spirit and queer (LGBT2SQ) rights, especially in terms of rights for transgender and non-binary children, youth and adults. In July 2016, British Columbia Bill C-16 was passed that added "gender identity and gender expression" to the human rights code's list of areas protected from discrimination. After the passage of Bill C-16, then Minister of Education, Mike Bernier, signed a policy requiring that, by the end of 2016, all school board and independent schools make explicit references to sexual orientation and gender identity in already required anti-bullying school board policies.Working in collaboration with the BC Ministry of Education, UBC Faculty of Education, BC Teachers Federation, Out in Schools and numerous international and local individuals, the SOGI 123 initiative, funded by a private foundation, was developed and piloted in nine school districts across BC in the 2016-2017 school year. The goal of the pilot was to explore how SOGI issues might be introduced systemically into schools starting with training teachers, counselors, other staff, and principals. In 2017-2018, 52 school boards are involved with SOGI 123.