Why are our children being questioned about their gender and/or sexuality especially at such young ages?

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Parents, did you know that right now, in every school board across Ontario, students are being asked to divulge their sexual interests and their gender identity? On orders of the Ontario government, every school board in Ontario has to gather and report data on their students through a questionnaire called the Student Census.

Schools in Ontario are required by Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan and Anti-Racism Act, 2017 to gather and report this data. Through the Student Census, high school children are being asked to choose whether they are: a boy, girl, “gender fluid”, “gender nonconforming”, “non-binary”, “questioning”, “trans boy or man”, “trans girl or woman”, or “two-spirit.”

I learned that in grade seven and above, school boards will start asking students if they are: straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, two-spirit, queer, questioning, asexual, pansexual, or “other?”

According to the Upper Grand District School Board’s website, this survey is not anonymous (though they claim it is confidential). This information is collected non-anonymously, where it can hypothetically be tied back to the student.

Through the Student Census, the Ontario government has radically invaded schools, and it seems to be for practically no purpose other than to collect data about our students. According to Halton Catholic District School Board’s website, the overall point of the survey is to “Eliminate systemic racism and advance racial equity”…what do any of these questions have to do with systemic racism?

What I found interesting is that Catholic schools are being asked to conduct this survey as well, and from my knowledge, the Catholic Church has always held the belief that humans are made either male or female (see: section 2393 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church). For those who are not familiar, the catechism is an organized presentation of essential teaching of the Catholic Church in regards to both Catholic faith and morals. Asking Catholic school boards to give out these surveys in many ways is asking Catholic schools to contradict their own teaching.

The question that I have at this point is why?

Why are our children being questioned about their gender and/or sexuality especially at such young ages?

Are parents familiar with the vast array of gender identification terms?

For parents of elementary school children, are you ready to check that box for your child?

Should our schools be asking young children if their “gender fluid” or keeping files of which teenage students are “queer” or “questioning?”

Links to these surveys are displayed on the front pages of many school board websites across Ontario, such as the Toronto District School Board, Durham District School Board, and even Catholic school boards like the Halton Catholic District School Board.

If you as a parent are not comfortable with this, now is the time to speak up. These mandated surveys are flying under the radar, and if it makes you uncomfortable, say something about it.

Durham Catholic District School Board’s page on the Student Census 2022: https://www.dcdsb.ca/en/students/student-census.aspx?_mid_=128935#

Student Census, Grade K-8 (taken from Halton Catholic District School Board website): https://www.hcdsb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/K-8_English.pdf

Student Census, Grade 9-12 (taken from Halton Catholic District School Board website):https://www.hcdsb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/9-12_English.pdf