Administrative Procedure: 353
LGBTQIA2S+ SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY
Background
The Delta School District is committed to establishing and maintaining a safe and positive learning environment for all students and employees, including those who self-identify as members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. The District recognizes and reaffirms its commitment to the anti-discrimination principles and values contained in the B.C. Human Rights Code, Canadian Human Rights Act, and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It also recognizes the need to provide a safe environment, free from harassment and discrimination, while ensuring that students, employees, and families who are members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, are treated with respect and dignity at all times.
Procedures
1. Conduct
All students, employees, contractors, visitors, or any other persons who use District facilities shall be expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the District’s commitment to non-discrimination, human rights, and cross-cultural understanding as set out in this Administrative Procedure. In order to reflect the Delta School District’s commitment to supporting anti-homophobia, anti-transphobia, non-discrimination, human rights, and cross-cultural understanding, the District expects:
1.1 All students, employees, contractors, visitors, or any other persons who use District facilities will be vigilant and take action against individual discriminatory attitudes and behaviours towards individuals who self-identify as a part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, so that all students and staff are treated with fairness and respect.
1.2 Allegations of homophobic or transphobic language, behaviour, or discrimination will be reported to the Teacher or Principal in the case of students. In the case of employees, allegations will be reported to the immediate supervisor.
1.3 Schools will discuss these issues at all grade levels, using age appropriate language, to reinforce behavioral expectations in accordance with their school’s code of conduct. Schools will reinforce behavioral expectations in accordance with their school’s code of conduct and this Procedure at all grade levels, using age appropriate language.
1.4 School events and activities be free of discrimination toward members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community.
1.5 Staff and students will use language and behaviour that does not degrade, label, stereotype, or incite hatred, prejudice, discrimination or harassment toward others on the basis of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identification.
1.6 At the first staff meeting of every school year, the school admin team will review the SOGI procedure and guidelines for supporting Trans and Gender Diverse Students.
1.7 There will be at least one SOGI lead at every school, and school admin will assist the district SOGI coordinator in recruiting these leads.
1.8 Trans and gender diverse students will be addressed by the names and pronouns they prefer to use (see appendix for details).
1.9 There will be safe washrooms and change room facilities at all school sites (see Delta School District Guidelines: Supporting Trans & Gender Diverse students for further information and clarification).
1.10 Students who choose to be out or to transition socially and/or medically will be fully supported by their school community and the district.
1.11 School staff to consult with District staff and/or be familiar with the districts guidelines for supporting trans and gender diverse students, to review best practices for supporting these students.
2. Staff Training
2.1 The District will require school counselors to have training so that they are informed and familiar with expectations pertaining to human rights, anti-homophobia, anti-transphobia, discrimination, cultural diversity, and harassment, as well as to be sensitive to LGBTQIA2S+ students and families.
2.2 The District will provide required training for all staff, elected Trustees, and Parent Advisory Councils to develop their knowledge, skills, awareness, and behaviours, to identify and eliminate discrimination against members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, and to foster dialogue that creates understanding and respect.
2.3 The District will require an online Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Training Program be completed by all new personnel hired, similar to the general staff safety training, and will require that all previously hired staff also complete this training.
3. Curriculum
The District expects that teachers will follow Ministry guidelines regarding diversity education, which includes discussion of LGBTQIA2S+ realities. The District will support and encourage staff to:
3.1 Create, adapt, or acquire appropriate, current, and relevant recommended learning resources with respect to human rights, anti-discrimination, and cultural diversity related to LGBTQIA2S+ realities.
3.2 Create, adapt, or acquire appropriate, current, and relevant recommended learning resources for inclusive health education related to LGBTQIA2S+ realities.
3.3 Support anti-homophobia and anti-transphobia education at all grade levels.
3.4 Embed LGBTQIA2S+ education into the existing curriculum on an ongoing basis, using age appropriate language and seek to also include examples of more inclusive resources.
3.5 Provide library resources and curriculum with respect to human rights, anti-discrimination, and cultural diversity related to LGBTQIA2S+ realities.
3.6 Limit, or ideally eliminate, sex-segregated activities within classes and school wide activities.
3.7 Start the year with a survey or discussion, which allows students to self-identify their preferred pronouns and/or names rather than making assumptions about identity based on the name shown in the electronic system.
4. School and Community Relations
4.1 The District will continue to develop partnerships that promote effective participation in the education process by community organizations and members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community.
4.2 The District will continue to support the existence of Gender & Sexuality Alliance clubs (GSA’s) in Delta schools.
4.3 Outside Groups that use the school, groups that are brought in to provide education, and other related services shall be made aware of and expected to conduct themselves in accordance with this procedure.
4.4 Schools will ensure that school forms and communications reflect the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities of students, staff and parents/guardians.
5. Employment
5.1 Conduct consistent with this Administrative Procedure is considered to be a term and condition for employment for all staff.
5.2 The District is committed to making sure that District employees responsible for personnel selection shall be provided with training to enhance their sensitivity to human rights issues, including sensitivity to LGBTQIA2S+ issues in a safe, respectful and accepting environment.
5.3 The District will ensure that the confidentiality of the sexual orientation and gender identity of staff will be protected. Employees who self-identify as a member of the LGBTQIA2S+ community will be given the support they require to do their work in a safe and respectful environment.
5.4 Employees who choose to be out or to transition socially, medically and/or surgically will be fully supported by the District.
5.5 All employees of the school district will be supported in being able to identify discriminatory attitudes and behaviours as described in this policy, and are expected to be committed to eliminating the harm, inequities, and barriers that might exist in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity.
5.6 In the interest of safe and supportive environments, the district is committed to ensuring that the confidentiality of the sexual orientation and gender identity of employees will be protected. Employees who are out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or any other LGBTQIA2S+ identity will be given the support they require to do their work in a safe and respectful environment.
STUDENT NAMES & PRONOUNS
The District will make every possible effort to work with the Ministry body responsible for running and updating the MyEd, CIMS, and any other student record systems to continue to make changes that allow for students to easily be recognized by their chosen names and pronouns. Until such time as the MyEd system can easily accommodate this, it is the classroom teacher’s responsibility to make note of any students who use an alternate name and/or pronoun to that visible on MyEd. It is the responsibility of the TTOC to look for/read/use said information. It is the responsibility of the District and school site admin to make sure that this aspect of the procedure is adhered to. Furthermore, the process on student identity should be centered on the students’ needs and desires. In this way if a student is using a different name and/or pronoun at school than what they are using at home then this can be made clear to all staff and honoured with respect to any communication with parents and other guardians and any outside agencies working with said student.
STAFF TRAINING
Staff training is an ongoing process and consists of various levels of training. To start, all employees will have completed the online module for harassment, which includes a section on SOGI procedure. This is a brief cursory training but in signing that employees have completed this training they are acknowledging the existence of this procedure and their willingness to conduct themselves in accordance with it. Next, there will be created a more robust online training module that staff will be required to complete that will give them further understanding of LGBTQIA2S+ realities and language. Further to this, the district is committed to providing more in-depth training on an ongoing basis through Pro-D opportunities for staff at various sites and at various times.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Asexual: A person who is not sexually attracted to any gender or sex. Asexual people may still be romantically attracted to people of a variety of genders and sexualities and have romantic, non-sexual relationships.
Bisexual: A person who is attracted to both women and men.
Cisgender: A gender identity that society considers to “match” the biological sex assigned to someone at birth. It is also a term used to denote both people who are not trans and the experiences of privilege granted on the basis of being cisgender. ‘Cis,’ an abbreviation of this term and is not a slur as it merely denotes the full term of cisgender.
Gay: A person who is attracted to someone of the same sex and/or gender as themselves. This word can be applied to all genders of relationships, but has primarily been used in reference to men.
Gender: A socially constructed concept of identity based on roles, behaviours, activities, and appearance such as masculine, feminine, androgynous, etc.
Gender Diverse: An inclusive term used to refer to multiple types of gender identities that fall outside cis and/or binary understandings of gender. ‘Gender diverse’ also uses strengths-based language, as opposed to more stigmatizing terms such as ‘gender minority.’
Gender expression: The ways a person presents their sense of gender to others (for example, through clothes, hairstyle, mannerisms, etc.).
Gender identity: A person’s internal sense of being a man, a woman, genderqueer etc. This is not the same thing as a person’s biological sex, and may not be consistent with how they are perceived by others.
Gender nonconforming: A term that often refers to children who express gender in ways that differs from societal expectations of the sex and gender assigned to them at birth.
Homophobia: The fear, ignorance and mistreatment of people who are, or are perceived to be, lesbian, gay, or bisexual. This often leads to bias, discrimination, hatred, harassment, and violation of the human rights of lesbian, gay, or bisexual people. Homophobic bullying can also be targeted against any individual, regardless of the sexual orientation that the person actually identifies with.
Intersex: Refers to people whose reproductive or sexual anatomy is not easily defined as male or female. There are a variety of ways someone can be intersex, ranging from having ambiguous genitalia to having mixture of XX and XY chromosomes. Intersex individuals have historically been mistreated in North American society (i.e. being forced to have “corrective” genital surgeries as infants). The term Disorders of Sexual Development is being used increasingly amongst medical professionals in reference to intersex conditions; however, this term has not been fully adopted by intersex communities at the time this policy is being written. The word hermaphrodite was historically used to describe intersex individuals; however, this term is considered highly offensive.
Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women.
LGBTQIA2S+: An acronym that represents queer identities in a broad sense. There is a wide range of other terms often included in this acronym. The plus sign (+) indicates the inclusion of all sexual and gender identities.
Non-Binary: A collection, continuum, or spectrum of gender identities and expressions, often based on the rejection of the gender binary’s assumption that gender is strictly an either/ or option of ‘male/men’ or ‘female/women,’ based on sex assigned at birth. ‘Nonbinary’ can be both a specific term of identification and/or an umbrella term. ‘Nonbinary’ is not synonymous with ‘androgyny,’ as there are many different non-binary experiences and expressions affected by time, culture, and individual perception. Some non-binary individuals may also hold trans identities, but the terms ‘non-binary’ and ‘trans’ are distinct and should not be used interchangeably.
Pronouns: The words one uses to refer to themselves (e.g. he/him/his; she/her/hers; they/them/theirs; xe, xem, xyr, etc.).
QTIBIPOC: An acronym for Queer, Trans, Intersex, Black, Indigenous, People of Colour. Queer People of Colour often experience intersecting oppressions on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, and other factors. QTIBIPOC identities often face discrimination in both queer and non-queer communities. In Canada, ‘QTIBIPOC’ (Queer, Trans, Intersex, Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) is often used instead of ‘QTIPOC’ (Queer, Trans, Intersex, People of Colour) to call attention to the specific mechanisms and impacts of oppression experienced by Black and Indigenous communities.
Queer: An umbrella term (often used in place of the LGBTTQ+ acronym) used to describe individuals who identify as being part of sexual and gender diverse communities (e.g. lesbian, gay, transgender).
Sex: A biological classification based on physical attributes such as sex chromosomes, hormones, internal reproductive structures, and external genitalia. At birth, it is used to identify individuals as male or female. For those whose sex is not easily categorized as male or female see Intersex.
Sexual Orientation: Refers to a person’s attraction towards a particular gender or sex. Someone may identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, pansexual, etc. It is important to remember that sexual identity and gender identity are separate.
Transgender (Trans): Transgender, frequently abbreviated to ‘trans,’ is an umbrella term for a wide range of experiences and identities for people whose affirmed gender does not align with the gender they were assigned at birth. Being trans is something that can only be decided by an individual for themselves and does not depend on external criteria such as surgery or hormone treatments.
Transphobia: Fear, ignorance and mistreatment of people who are, or are perceived to be, trans* or gender nonconforming. This often leads to bias, discrimination, hatred, harassment, and violation of the human rights of transgender or gender nonconforming people. Transphobic bullying can also be targeted against any individual, regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression that the person actually identifies with.
Transition: A term most commonly used to refer to someone transitioning from one gender to another. Transition often consists of a change in style of dress, selection of a new name, and a request that people use the correct pronoun when describing them. Transition may, but does not always, include medical care like hormone therapy, counseling, and/or surgery.
Two-Spirit: An Indigenous term describing the embodiment of both masculine and feminine spirits. This identity is not limited to gender expression or sexuality, but encompasses them both while incorporating a spiritual element. It is a standalone identity, not an Indigenous term for gay or lesbian.
Procedure 353