School board's job to prevent anti-LGBT bullying, says education minister
In the wake of reports of anti-gay bullying at a school in central Newfoundland, the education minister says schools have the resources to prevent it — but some schools do more than others.
"There are some schools that are probably doing a better job than others with regards to addressing these issues, but it certainly is something that we take very seriously from a department's perspective," Al Hawkins told CBC's Newfoundland Morning Tuesday.
A lot of times, depending on what the environment is within the home, sometimes that translates back into the classroom. - Al Hawkins
"We have zero tolerance for any type of issues dealing with that within our schools."
Two Botwood Collegiate students say there has been escalating harassment since a gay-straight alliance was started this school year, including vandalism of the club's posters and threats of violence.
Susan Rose, vice-president of LGBT-rights advocacy group Egale Canada, said her organization worked with the provincial government in 2012 to offer inclusivity workshops, and said the provincial government needs to make sure inclusivity is implemented in school curricula.
Hawkins said lesson plans have been provided to the school board.
School board's responsibility, says minister
"I'm not sure that it's not being implemented," Al Hawkins said. "This has been something that we've been addressing for quite some time and really, we have provided inclusive lesson plans that would be used and utilized within our curriculum."
The Department of Education has provided the tools and resources for the school board, he said.
"It becomes the responsibility, once we look at any curriculum, the responsibility of the school board through the administration of the schools to ensure that we are addressing any issues that may arise."
Hawkins stopped short of saying the policies in place need more teeth.
Buy-in needed from parents
"It becomes, for us, important to ensure that the proper tools are in place and we provide the proper resources and training for our teachers to ensure that they fully understand that within today's society, students have different needs," he said.
The education minister also said he plans to meet with Rose within the next couple of weeks to discuss policies and enforcement.
Parents need to be part of the strategy, he said.
"A lot of times, depending on what the environment is within the home, sometimes that translates back into the classroom. It's a community-learning approach that we need to have."
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