Progress report on trans INCLUSION By Glen Hansman, BCTF President
We have students in BC schools who are transitioning in their teens, and even preteens. The BCTF advocates for supports and services that create safe and inclusive environments for people from all equity-seeking groups, including trans members, whether they are out or not. All teachers have the responsibility to respect the self-identification and privacy of colleagues and students, and work proactively to ensure their safety and inclusion. IN 2016 THE BCTF was active in the lobby that succeeded in getting the BC Human Rights Code updated to include gender identity and gender expression and we are now working to support implementation in the public sector, including in schools. The Representative Assembly and the Annual General Meeting have set policies and procedures to address harassment, discrimination, and hate directed at trans members of our school communities, within our union, and in the broader society. Existing BCTF policies and procedures have been updated to guide our actions forward
Teacher education for all —safe, included, and empowered Progressive changes to the BC Human Rights Code, and new Ministry of Education standards on codes of conduct mean that school districts are striving to be more inclusive, yet many teachers have limited personal experience with sexual and gender diversity. The 2015 Every Teacher Project found that while 85% of Canadian teachers approve of LGBTQ-inclusive education, 59% of teachers in their first five years of teaching reported that their preservice education had not prepared them for the sexual and gender diversity they encountered in schools. This year the UBC Faculty of Education seconded teacher Steve Mulligan to co-ordinate the Teacher Education for All (TEFA) project, to build teachers’ capacity to provide an inclusive culture, workplace, and learning environment with a focus on sexual orientation and gender identity. Candidates had opportunities to learn from the stories, experiences, and ideas of youth, parents, other educators, and community members.
on equity, diversity, and inclusion. Violence against women, sexism, and misogyny all need to be eradicated. The 2017 AGM passed a motion in support of gender-neutral language and genderneutral washrooms, and adopted a statement of principles on transgender rights. Asserting that we cannot advance inclusion of our trans students, while at the same time donate to organizations that would exclude them as adults, the Representative Assembly adopted a resolution in January: That the BCTF publicize to its members the November 2016 BCFED convention decisions to encourage organizations who are trans-exclusionary to change their practices, and to encourage affiliates to donate their dollars to trans-inclusive organizations.
Resources TEFA teach.educ.ubc.ca/teacher-education-for-all/ July 4–5 SOGI Summer Institute, Safe is Not Enough: http://bit.ly/2qaGvqN. SOGI 1 2 3 is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Education, the BCTF, and the ARC Foundation. Successes include SOGI in the BC Human Rights Code and improvements to the Ministry’s standards for codes of conduct. The current SOGI focus is on LGBTQ professional 10 TEACHER May | June 2017
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development and support for a network of district co-ordinator positions dedicated to increasing support and inclusion for LGBTQ members in schools. Find LGBTQ-inclusive teaching resources at www.sogieducation.org/.