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'SOME OF THESE COMMENTS WERE HOMOPHOBIC, TRANSPHOBIC AND HURTFUL'

ranging from gender and sexual identity education to dress codes to explicit reading material and the celebration of Pride Month, with parents questioning the flying of the Pride flag and requesting that students be allowed to opt out of Pride activities.

"Our concerns are with policies and procedures put forth by the government and our local school board regarding erotica for minors, the current policies regarding washroom and change room uses, the push on children to choose a sexual orientation or gender before going through puberty and the divisive teachings to our children," the group DDSB Concerned Parents said in a statement following the May 15 meeting. "We believe that children should be taught that they all are special and wonderful no matter who they are. We believe that the school system needs less activism and more academics. We believe that funding should not be motivated by political views but, rather, academic requirements."

Members of the group were among the spectators cleared from the meeting gallery on May 15 after a commotion broke out following a string of controversial questions that included concerns with the teaching of critical race theory, which was labelled as "Marxist ideology," mental health impacts caused by gender identity education and the flying of the Pride flag. The incident prompted the move to virtual for the next two meetings and was addressed by DDSB director of education Camille Williams-Taylor.

"Some of these comments were homophobic, transphobic and hateful.

Other comments and behaviours were intimidating and harmful by tone or content. To be clear, the DDSB firmly rejects and condemns this behaviour," Williams-Taylor said in a May 19 update.

"We have a responsibility to the safety of all participants in our learning and working spaces, of which our boardroom is one, both virtually and in-person. On Monday, staff, students and members of the public were made to feel unsafe as a result of the behaviours of some members of the audience. These behaviours exemplified hatred, intolerance, bullying and harassment, and so, the public gallery was closed."

DDSB Concerned Parents issued a public response to the statement, calling it defamatory and denying any hateful comments were made.

"DDSB Concerned Parents is a grass-roots movement

of concerned parents within the Region of Durham. We will not tolerate hate toward any group of people and/or individuals," the statement said.

The group also protested the decision to move the meeting to online, saying they were being silenced by the board.

"We feel that shutting out parents is wrong. Parents should have a voice in their child's education," a representative explained in a statement to www.durhamregion.com.

"We also believe that the board should not be censoring questions. We want live question periods with actual responses. Many don't understand that if they ask the board to read the question for them, there is no opportunity to ask a supplemental question. Supplemental questions are key as the board needs to respond without the opportunity for a staged answer."

Student trustee Ben Cameron, a Grade 10 student at Dunbarton High

School, said it's been difficult to sit through recent question periods.

"It's hard, especially as a queer person, to be villainized and made out to be the enemy, it's hard to see my LGBTQ peers and the trans and non-binary communities continue to be erased in these peoples' minds," he said of the questions posed.

"Some of the ideas, when they speak of gender ideology and denying trans

people's existence and speaking of pedophilia and linking that to the LGBTQ community, these are the kinds of comments that are homophobic in nature, and these are the types of comments we're hearing at board meetings."

Cameron said students remain mostly unaware of the controversy, indicating the policies being argued against are succeeding in their main goal — to make schools a safe space for all students.

"You can't deny homophobia and racism exist in our schools, but I think our board and staff and teachers do a really good job at addressing incidents to make sure they don't happen again," said Cameron. "It's an unfortunate truth, but I don't think that the kind of rhetoric that these protesters/parents are using has taken hold in our schools."

Cameron stressed the importance of ensuring all

students, especially those from traditionally marginalized groups, feel safe in school.

"In order for our students

to learn and be engaged in our classrooms, they need to feel a sense of belonging and a sense of well-being," he continued.

"I think that is where these comments can have the most detrimental impact for students — in their sense of belonging and well-being."

That sense of safety is especially important for students who may not find it at home.

"Oftentimes home is not a safe place for LGBTQ kids," said Bedford. "These kids often go home to violence, hatred and homophobia, or oftentimes they are kicked out of their homes. When people act this way, when they picket outside schools, they make schools an unsafe place, and for some kids, that's the only place they can be who they are for eight hours every day."

Bedford said PFLAG has seen requests for support from students and families triple since students have returned to class following the end of COVID-19 measures.

"It's just sad that this is where we are, that people get so afraid about a group of people that they will do anything to make them feel invisible," said Bedford. "I know what it was like being a kid in school and experiencing this type of hate, so if me standing up makes one kid's life better, makes one kid safer, then I can deal with the hate I get from certain groups. I think if everyone stood up, if everyone called out this talk for what it is, that would go a long way. Parents that are hearing this need to take a stand, you need to talk to your kids about inclusion and let them know if they are questioning anything, that's OK, they have friends and they have support."

For information or to find supports, visit www.pflagdurhamregion.com.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: We spoke to parent groups and community groups about recent incidents at the Durham District School Board around board policies to support LGBTQ students and how the controversy is impacting students and residents across Durham.

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2023-06-08T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-08T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://communitynews.pressreader.com/article/281590949962656

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