New Alberta school year comes with controversial new gender policies in classrooms

While  students across Alberta prepare to return to their studies, the province’s educators are also preparing for the implementation of some controversial new gender policies in the classroom.

As of Sept. 1, parental permission will be required for students who wish to go by a new preferred name or pronoun related to their gender identity.

Parents will also need to opt in for their child to receive any sex education on issues such as gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality.

John Nishimura, who is the parent of a trans child who graduated in 2021, says the policies are going to cause a lot of anxiety for trans students.

“They are going to have so much trouble, so much anxiety — they’re going to suffer from depression,” said Nishimura.

“The UCP will have blood on their hands because a lot of these kids don’t feel good at home, they can’t talk to it about their parents, they need a safe place and schools are that safe place, they should be that safe place.”

“Inclusive schools are safe schools,” added Nishimura. “They need be included in everything and regardless of their gender, their gender identity, their sexual orientation, they all need to get along. They all need be be included in everything.”

Corinne Mason, a professor who teaches courses on gender studies and sexuality at Mount Royal University, calls the new policies “scary” and “harmful.”

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“The mental health, the harm, the stress, the anxiety — we’ve already lost kids to suicide in this community, in Calgary and Alberta more generally, and I think the ramp-up to the school year is going to cause some real struggles for people, and I do really worry about youth safety,” said Mason.

“For students who don’t have supportive parents at home, it’s gonna be a really concerning time for students, who are gonna be worried about being outed to their parents by teachers. And I think for teachers, it’s really concerning that they’re being forced to out students to unsupportive parents.”

On Tuesday, to help inform parents and support healthy students, the YWCAs in Alberta launched a new public information program — mostly through social media — to convince more parents to opt in to the sex education classes their child’s school is offering.

Spokesperson Stacey Ashton describes sex education as “more than just the birds and the bees.”

“Sexual health education helps improve knowledge, confidence, and relationship outcomes,” said Ashton.

“It helps prevent violence before it starts by teaching respect and equity. It reduces harassment, homophobia, and dating violence. It builds confidence, empathy, and resilience in youth.”

Ashton is concerned the new opt-in policy won’t work for busy parents — especially if there are language or cultural barriers.

“It’s easy for people to miss forms.  As parents, we get a lot of forms and backpacks at the beginning of the year and those things are easy to miss,” said Ashton.

“So I think that’s really who’s gonna fall through the cracks.”

Global News asked the Ministry of Education and Childcare about the concerns raised over the new policies and we were provided with an emailed response that said, in part, “parents are the primary educators and caregivers for their child and these changes ensure they are fully in the loop in regards to their child’s education.”

As for the change requiring parents to opt-in so their child can take sex education, the statement said, “parents already have the right to excuse their children from these topics, and this change provides clear direction to school boards on how to ensure parents are fully informed and engaged. This opt-in model ensures that parents can make informed decisions about their child’s participation in these specific areas of instruction. Schools across Alberta already use opt-in consent processes for many curricular and extracurricular activities.”

However, Mason describes the opt-in policy as a step back to the 1940s and 50s that’s not paying attention to what students are experiencing in 2025.

“When we think about the kinds of things that happen in sexual education, I think a lot of parents don’t actually know,” said Mason.

“We’ve got a lot of fearmongering about what happens in sexual education. It’s available. You can look at the curriculum online.”

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