N.B. Liberals reverse changes made to school gender-identity policy

The revised Policy 713 includes changes to the informal use of a student’s chosen first name and pronouns and expectations around communicating with families.

Students under 16 will no longer require parental consent to informally change their first name and pronouns, but consent will still be required for formal use.

Those aged 16 and over will not need parental awareness for formal or informal use, which has been consistent from the original policy introduced in 2020.

However, Education Minister Claire Johnson said they are encouraging parental awareness whenever possible through the updated policy.

“We really added a parental awareness piece that we thought was really important because with the 2020 version, parents felt left out, and that was a problem,” Johnson told reporters on Thursday.

If a student does not feel comfortable, the school will respect their wishes and work with them to create a support plan “when they are ready” to make their parents aware.

Johnson said what that would look like would ultimately depend on the student and would be on a case-by-case basis.

The Higgs government updated the policy in July 2023 to require students under 16 to get parental consent if they wanted to informally use a different name or pronouns.

That change led to protests and court battles, dissent from with the Progressive Conservative caucus, and a report from the province’s child and youth advocate that said the revised policy violated children’s rights.

Johnson said her government’s revisions also allow for an “approved professional” to assess a student’s capacity to make this type of decision if there is any concern from school staff — something that did not exist previously.

“This is the way that we decided to address the capacity piece that was present in the child and youth advocate version,” said the education minister.

“The spirit of this is to let teachers and principals know that there are going to be resources available to them if they feel like it’s outside of their wheelhouse.”

In addition to the recommendations from the child and youth advocate, Johnson said they also incorporated feedback from students, families and 2SLGBTQIA+ stakeholders.

The president of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association (NBTA) released a statement shortly after the updates to Policy 713 were announced.

Peter Legacy said teachers are dedicated to fostering inclusive and safe learning environments where every student feels they belong.

“Teachers will continue collaborating with families and appropriate school professionals to ensure all students receive the support they need,” said Legacy.

“The NBTA calls on the government to provide access to professional learning and ongoing support to all education staff, ensuring the updated version of Policy 713 is fully understood and implemented effectively.”