GD's Political Animal: schools

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Friday, December 6, 2024

Alberta "trans" bills passed in legislature

The Alberta government's "trans" bills have passed third reading in the provincial legislature.

Alberta passes laws to protect parental rights, ban child gender transitions | True North Wire | Isaac Lamoureux:

December 5, 2024 - "The Legislative Assembly of Alberta has passed a trio of bills that strengthen parental rights, promote fairness in sports, and prevent minors from undergoing irreversible gender transition procedures they may later regret. Bill 26, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, Bill 27, the Education Amendment Act, and Bill 29, the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act, each passed their third reading and will come into effect following royal proclamation.... Alberta Premier Danielle Smith previously highlighted that the legislation would protect youth. 'The changes we’re introducing are founded on compassion and science, both of which are vital for the development of youth throughout a time that can be difficult and confusing,' she said...

"The Alberta government said that legislative amendments to ensure education continues during public health and states of emergencies will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. 'Additional regulatory amendments will follow, to provide school administrators more clarity and guidance on expectations for learning during emergencies. These would come into force at the same time as the legislative amendments, except for certain sections regarding school authority policies, which would come into effect on Sept. 1, 2025,' reads a statement from the Alberta government. “Further information regarding regulatory changes will be shared following the passage of the legislation.”

Do Alberta's new policies help or harm trans youth? | Power & Politics | CBC News | October 31, 2024:

Alberta legislation on transgender youth, student pronouns and sex education set to become law | CBC News | Andrew Jeffrey:

December 4,2024 - The Education Amendment Act, 2024 [Bill 27], the Health Statutes Amendment Act [Bill 26] and the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act [Bill 29], first announced by Premier Danielle Smith in a provincewide video address in January, are set to become law. National advocacy group Egale Canada and the Alberta-based Skipping Stone Foundation confirmed Wednesday their intent to pursue legal action in response, arguing the legislation violates the constitutional rights of young 2SLGBTQ+ people.

"The changes [under Bill 27] include requiring children under 16 to have parental consent if they want to change their names or pronouns at school. Students who are 16 or 17 won't need permission, but schools will need to let their parents know first. Students would not be able to learn about sex education, gender identity and sexual orientation in school unless their parents have opted in to them receiving that instruction. Any third-party instructional material would need approval from Alberta Education before it is used in the classroom....

"[Bill 26] would also prohibit doctors from treating those under 16 seeking gender-affirming treatment through puberty blockers or hormone therapy. Physicians would be prohibited from performing top and bottom gender surgeries on minors.... Schools would have to inform parents [under Bill 27] when kids ask to change pronouns....

"[Bill 29] would limit membership on female competitive sports teams to athletes who were female at birth. The bill will ban transgender athletes from competing in female amateur sports and require school and organizations to report eligibility complaints. Smith has said the government will work with leagues to set up coed or gender-neutral divisions for sports.

"According to the province, the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act is anticipated to take effect fall 2025, while the amendments to the Education Act will take effect on proclamation, which is anticipated in September 2025. The Health Statutes Amendment Act is expected to come into effect in the coming months....

"The Saskatchewan government used the notwithstanding clause to guard similar legislation. The clause allows a government to temporarily override certain sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Smith said she doesn't believe she'll need to invoke the notwithstanding clause to shield the policies from legal action, and that the legislation will be seen as reasonable and evidence-based. But she declined to say if she would use the clause to keep the laws on the books if the court challenges are successful."

Saturday, July 20, 2024

California governor signs gender notification ban

California Governor Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 1955, which bans schools from notifying parents when students transition.

Opponents of gender notification ban in California schools promise legal fight | KCRA | Orko Manna:

July 16, 2024 - "Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1955 into law Monday. It prohibits school districts in California from having policies that require teachers or staff to disclose a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression to the student’s parents, without the student’s consent. That includes nonbinary and transgender students. LGBTQ advocates said the law is a good step forward in protecting students....

“'Young people should really be in control of their own destiny and what it is that they’re ready for, in being able to disclose what their identities are to teachers, their peers, to their parents, and so this really puts that kind of control and autonomy back with the students,' Sacramento LGBT Community Center CEO David Heitstuman said. 'It’s super important for young people to be the ones in control of when they disclose and how they disclose, that that’s so important'....

"Sabrina Naves is the president of PFLAG Sacramento, an organization that supports the parents and friends of LGBTQ people. Naves said she is thrilled Gov. Newsom signed AB 1955 into law.... Naves came out as transgender in 2018. While she is the head of an LGBTQ organization now, Naves said when she was younger she was not ready to be open about who she was.... 'I know that if I had been forcibly outed to my parents, that would have definitely been an issue of safety for me,' Naves said....

"However, opponents of the new law said that excluding parents from those conversations is unacceptable. California Family Council, a Christian public policy organization, said the law creates a divide between parents and their children. 'Basic common sense tells us that parents have the ultimate responsibility to protect and defend their children, and we believe that this law not only takes away those parental rights, but it actually will put children in danger,' California Family Council president Jonathan Keller said. 'Children need their parents. A teacher, a school administrator is not a substitute for a mother and a father.'

"'I think we’re going to be looking at all of our legal options,” Keller said. “We absolutely anticipate future legal challenges for this.'

"Assemblymember Bill Essayli, R-Riverside, who opposed the bill as it worked through the legislature, posted on X Monday, vowing to challenge the law in court. He said, in part, 'Governor Newsom signing #AB1955 is both immoral and unconstitutional and we will challenge it in court to stop the government from keeping secrets from parents'....

"Late Tuesday, the Liberty Justice Center announced it had filed a lawsuit challenging the law.

"In the wake of the governor signing AB 1955 into law, billionaire Elon Musk said he is moving the headquarters of SpaceX and social media company X to Texas from California. 'I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children,' Musk wrote.

Transgender notification ban signed into law | FOX 11 Los Angeles | July 16, 2024:

Saturday, April 6, 2024

Schools closing to protect children from eclipse

This Monday, hundreds of schools across North America are closing ostensibly to protect children from sustaining lifelong injuries by looking at the sun during the solar eclipse..

Lock Up Your Kids: The Eclipse Is Coming! | The Free Press | Rupa Subramanya:

April 5, 2024 - "On Monday, April 8, hundreds of schools across North America, from Texas to Ontario, are closing in order to protect pupils from sustaining lifelong injuries — from the sun. Just after 11 a.m. local time, a complete solar eclipse will begin over the Pacific coast of Mexico. Its “path of totality”—the areas where the sun will be entirely blotted out—will pass through 13 U.S. states, before ending off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. In these regions, schools face a dilemma: Is the eclipse a learning opportunity for kids—or a threat?

“'The solar eclipse offers a rare educational occasion,' Natalie Jameson, an educator in Canada’s Prince Edward Island, admitted last month. 'But prioritizing safety is crucial.' And so, classes in her district will end two hours early to ensure 'students will be home safely' before the start of the eclipse. The decision, her department added, was made 'out of an abundance of caution.' The same decision was made by Ontario’s Waterloo District, even though it initially opted to remain open.... But after the elementary teachers’ union criticized the decision, with its president arguing 'it’s naive to assume students won’t look directly at the sun,' the school board announced it would cancel class after all.

"Educators in America, meanwhile, are singing from the same hymn sheet. 'You obviously cannot look at the sun when this is happening,' a rep for Perry Township Schools in Indianapolis told local news. Instead, she told me, the school district is 'having an e-learning day due to safety reasons.... A superintendent in upstate New York echoed these reasons when he explained why classes in the Schoharie Central School District would be canceled on Monday: 'It really is out of an abundance of caution.'

"Abundance of caution. You hear this phrase a lot in our era of absurd safetyism, which is reshaping modern childhood. An abundance of caution is the reason kids no longer spend time alone or play outside, depriving them of some of life’s most fulfilling experiences. To be clear: when you look at an eclipse, your instinct to squint may not kick in — which can damage your eyes — but cases of blindness are vanishingly rare, and there are simple precautions that can be taken....

"Many of the scientists also believe the eclipse should be treated as a learning opportunity for kids. Ilana Macdonald, an astrophysicist at Ontario’s Eclipse Task Force, said the event is a way 'to incite wonder and amazement about the world. And yet they’re focusing more on the negatives and the dangerous aspects of it,' she said of schools that are closing.... Michael Kirk, a research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, agrees, calling the eclipse 'a once in a lifetime experience.' 'You will tell your grandchildren about this. You will remember it for the rest of your life,' he said, noting that the next total eclipse visible in America won’t happen until 2044....

"I spoke to Lola McAdam, 13, whose Ottawa school district has opted to close on April 8 to 'ensure safety' for students. 'I probably would rather have been with my friends,' she told me. 'It would have been cooler than being stuck at home.' Suzanne Hancock, Lola’s mother, said she still has fond memories of the total solar eclipse in 1979, when she was 7 years old. Her school remained open, and the students made pinhole projectors together so they could safely watch the event. Suzanne wishes her daughter had a similar opportunity.... 'That experience and adventure has been robbed from today’s students just like during the Covid-19 pandemic,' she concluded....

"Lenore Skenazy, founder of the Free-Range Kids project — which promotes 'a commonsense approach to parenting in these overprotective times' — says there are many examples of silly safetyism in schools.... 'We have a culture that sees childhood through the lens of risk and danger,' Skenazy said. And it’s not just schools. Up until 2011, an eight-year-old could travel unaccompanied on Amtrak—and then the minimum age was raised to 13. The reason for the change? An Amtrak spokesperson cited an 'abundance of concern.'

"Skenazy said she dislikes these empty words. 'An "abundance of caution" turns out to be excess caution,' she said. And if we stop kids from taking solo train rides, or bringing old plates to school, or collectively experiencing a spectacular, celestial event, Skenazy believes we are effectively giving them something much worse: 'An abundance of distrust.'”

Rupa Subramanya is a reporter for The Free Press. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @rupasubramanya.

Lies About Solar Eclipses You Should Never Believe | Grunge | April 1, 2024:

Friday, December 22, 2023

Book debunks Canadian "unmarked graves" story

A new book challenges the prevailing media and government narrative that Canada's residential schools were death camps where tens of thousands of indigenous children were abused, murdered, and secretly buried in unmarked graves.

Grave Error: Correcting the False Narrative of Canada’s “Missing Children” | C2C Journal | Tom Flanagan:

December 7, 2023 - "The new book Grave Error: How the Media Misled Us (and the Truth about Residential Schools) constitutes a response to the moral panic unleashed in Canada on May 27, 2021, when the Chief of the Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc (aka, the Kamloops Indian Band) announced that ground-penetrating radar (GPR) had located the remains of 215 'missing children' in an apple orchard on the grounds of the local residential school. Politicians and media seized on this initial announcement.... The storyline of “mass unmarked graves” and “burials of missing children” quickly ricocheted around Canada and much of the world.... Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set the tone for the federal government’s response on May 30 when he ordered Canadian flags to be flown at half-mast on all federal buildings to honour the '215 children whose lives were taken at the Kamloops residential school.' By this act, possible burial sites were elevated to the status of confirmed victims of foul play....

"Over time, a more fully-developed and persistent narrative has grown out of that initial announcement from Kamloops ... to create a storyline about the inherently genocidal nature of Indian Residential ools that has since been widely accepted and largely unchallenged. But regardless of how many times it is repeated by Indigenous leaders, political activists, academics and media commentators, the entire narrative is largely if not completely false....

"Slowly at first, but now with gathering confidence, substantial pushback to this narrative has appeared, driven by a small group of professionals, including judges, lawyers, professors, journalists and researchers.... Grave Error is a collection of some of the best pushback essays published by these brave researchers in response to the Kamloops mythology. They analyze and critique the false narrative of unmarked graves, missing children, forced attendance and genocidal conditions at Indian Residential Schools. The book’s title summarizes the authors’ view of the Kamloops narrative. It is wrong. And not just wrong, but egregiously wrong. Because of this, it fully deserves our sardonic title, which normally might have more in common with a tabloid newspaper headline. Our book shows in detail just why and where the narrative is wrong....

"The editors of Grave Error are C.P. Champion and myself. In addition to an introduction and conclusion, it contains 18 chapters plus a foreword by Conrad Black and cover endorsement by columnist Barbara Kay. The first contribution is 'In Kamloops, Not One Body Has Been Found,' by Montreal historian Jacques Rouillard. This essay, originally posted on The Dorchester Review website, is now closing in on 300,000 views. It has done more than any other single publication to punch holes in the false narrative of unmarked graves and missing children. The author has updated his version in Grave Error to cover other false claims related to GPR since Kamloops. Other contributors include retired professors [Rodney] Clifton and Ian Gentles, retired judge Brian Giesbrecht, well-known author and editor Jonathan Kay and inimitable academic provocateur Frances Widdowson....

"Their contributions to this volume confront all the main fallacies head-on. Widdowson shows how the legend of murdered children and unmarked graves was spread by defrocked United Church minister Kevin Annett before it popped up again at Kamloops. [Hymie] Rubenstein and collaborators examine the evidence proffered in support of unmarked graves, such as the results of GPR, and find there is nothing – repeat nothing – there. One author, who published anonymously because of his fear of retaliation, shows how the GPR results at Kamloops probably are radar reflections of buried tile that was part of the school’s sewage disposal system....

"Other contributors include Kay, who explains how the media got the story so completely wrong, generating the worst fake news in Canadian history. Gentles examines health conditions in the schools and shows that children were better off there than at home on reserves. Former Manitoba judge Giesbrecht demonstrates that attendance in residential schools was not compelled in any meaningful sense of the term. My contribution criticizes the prolific but weak body of research purporting to show that attendance at residential schools created a historical trauma that is responsible for the subsequent social pathologies to which native people are subject. And Clifton shows from personal experience how benign and positive conditions in the schools could be. In full, our book demonstrates that all the major elements of the Kamloops narrative are either false or highly exaggerated. No unmarked graves have been discovered at Kamloops or elsewhere – not one....

"Perhaps sensing the weakness of their evidence-free position, purveyors of the Indian Residential Schools-as-genocide narrative have begun to double-down on their own claims, demanding that any criticism of their ideology be made illegal.... Winnipeg NDP MP Leah Gazan ... introduced the original House of Commons resolution declaring Indian Residential Schools to be genocidal. Then federal government ministers got involved. Marc Miller, then Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, took specific offence at Rouillard’s initial, ground-breaking essay, claiming on Twitter (now X) that it is 'part of a pattern of denialism and distortion' about residential schools in Canada. David Lametti, then the Minister of Justice, followed suit with a vague threat that Ottawa might consider “outlawing” residential school denialism. Denialism is generally defined as any debate that contradicts the official narrative as outlined at the beginning of this article.

"So here we are. A false narrative about genocide in residential schools has become firmly established in the public domain without any requirement for actual proof or due diligence. Media and government have eagerly collaborated in perpetuating this falsehood. And anyone who questions any part of the story is labelled a “denialist,” and possibly threatened with criminal prosecution. To such a world, Grave Error: How the Media Misled Us (and the Truth about Residential Schools) offers exactly what we have been missing so far – clarity, rigour and evidence."

This is a low point in the history of Parliament (interview with Tom Flanagan) | The Candice Malcolm Show, True North | December 6, 2023:

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Ex-teacher can sue school board, Ont. judge rules

An Ontario Superior Court judge has ruled that a former Waterloo teacher, who was suspended and investigated after her local School Board accused her of violating the province's Human Rights Code, can sue the Board for defamation.

Ex-teacher silenced for book views can proceed with lawsuit against Waterloo region board after court ruling | CBC News | Kate Bueckert:

November 27, 2023 - "A defamation case by a retired teacher who was removed from a 2022 meeting for speaking on the age appropriateness of books can now proceed against the Waterloo Region District School Board following an Ontario judge's ruling. On Thursday, Superior Court Justice J.A. Ramsay dismissed a motion by the board's lawyers to throw out the $1.75-million lawsuit by Carolyn Burjoski, a former English as a second language teacher. The Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) and former chair Scott Piatkowski are named as defendants. 'I am deeply relieved and grateful for this ruling. It is a significant victory and vindication, not just for me, but for everyone who dares to voice their valid concerns publicly,' Burjoski said in an emailed statement to media and supporters.

"Burjoski's lawsuit, launched in April 2022, stems from a Jan. 17 school board trustee meeting that year when she appeared as a delegation. Burjoski expressed her concern with the appropriateness of certain books in elementary school libraries. She gave two examples: A book that centred on an asexual character, and one about a transgender character. Her statement of claim says she spoke out about the books because she was worried they 'could put pressure on kids to start thinking sexually before they are ready to do so.'

"Piatkowski stopped Burjoski's delegation during the meeting because he said he had concerns what she was saying violated the Ontario Human Rights Code. Other trustees upheld that decision in a vote. 'I felt that the delegate was erasing the existence of trans people, that they were essentially questioning whether people who identify as trans or non-binary had a right to exist, and really that was the fundamental issue,' Piatkowski told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo at the time....

"After the meeting, Burjoski alleged in her statement of claim that Piatkowski gave 'false and defamatory statements' in local media and on social media. She also alleged the school board made defamatory statements in a message sent to staff and another posted to the board's website after the meeting. The statement of defence says Piatkowski's comments in the meeting, to media and on social media were 'entirely appropriate'....

"Burjoski has alleged she has faced repercussions since that meeting, including being suspended from work, and being banned from communicating with colleagues and students. She also said a formal complaint was launched that led to a disciplinary investigation. In her statement of claim, she said she became the centre of an 'international news story' where she was unfairly described as transphobic and discriminatory because of \Piatkowski and WRDSB's conduct and their false and malicious statements.' She said she has experienced stress, which led to her being hospitalized for anxiety....

"In his ruling, Ramsay said Burjoski's claims 'have substantial merit' and the 'comments of the board's agents were defamatory.' 'For example, they accused her of breaching the Human Rights Code, questioning the right of trans persons to exist and engaging in speech that included hate. She did not do any of those things,' Ramsay wrote.... Ramsay ordered the school board to pay $30,000 of Burjoski's legal fees in relation to this motion.... 'What happened here should not happen in a democratic society,' the judge wrote.

"In an email, the school board said it is reviewing the judge's decision, but 'as this matter remains before the courts, the board will not be commenting further.'

"Burjoski said the judge's decision shows the Human Rights Code 'does not prohibit public discussion.' 'I hope this decision sends a strong message to school boards that the weaponization of human rights codes against concerned citizens is an undemocratic abuse of the code,' Burjoski's statement said."

Silenced teacher, Carolyn Burjoski, is taking the school board to court | Stories of Brave Canadians | Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms | May 29, 2023:

Monday, October 23, 2023

Parents' Bill of Rights now law in Saskatchewan

"Parents' Bill Of Rights" Passed And Enshrined In Legislation | Government of Saskatchewan (press release):

October 20, 2023 -"The Government of Saskatchewan has passed the "Parents' Bill of Rights" and invoked the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This protects the important role that parents and guardians have in supporting their children. The notwithstanding clause is part of the Constitution of Canada and allows federal and provincial governments to enact legislation that operates notwithstanding certain provisions of the Charter.

"'Parents and guardians have a right to know what is being taught in their children's school,' Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said. '"The Parents' Bill of Rights" is an inclusionary policy that ensures that parents are at the forefront of every important decision in their child's life.'

"The Bill passed today invokes section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to entrench in law key elements of the parental inclusion and consent policies announced on August 22, 2023. It will permit the legislation to operate without interruption.

"The passing of this Bill provides parents with assurance and confidence that they will be involved in the important decisions involving their children no matter where they go to school in Saskatchewan. The Bill has received royal assent and is now in force."

https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/news-and-media/2023/october/20/parents-bill-of-rights-passed-and-enshrined-in-legislation

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe on passage of parents’ rights bill |cpac | October 20, 2023:

Monday, October 16, 2023

Saskatchewan gov't tables Parents' Bill of Rights

Sask. Parental Bill of Rights introduced, notwithstanding clause to be invoked | CBC News | Adam Hunter:

October 13, 2023 - "The Saskatchewan government introduced Bill 137, the Parental Bill of Rights, on Thursday morning, moving ahead with its plan to invoke the notwithstanding clause to protect a controversial new policy dictating how schools deal with gender-diverse students.

"'Parents should always be involved in important decisions involving their children,' said Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill. 'The parental inclusion and consent policy introduced in August and now this new legislation we are introducing today will ensure that continues to be the case.' Cockrill said the legislation 'provides clarity that the policy will remain in place.'

"Once passed, the law will require schools to receive consent from parents to use a child's gender-related preferred name or gender identity if they are under 16. The bill also says that if a child feels they will suffer physical, emotional or mental harm from the school seeking consent, the principal will direct the child to school support staff to develop a plan to eventually tell their parent. The government said the amendments are meant to keep parents informed and will support students....

"Opposition house leader and justice critic Nicole Sarauer spoke in the house for two hours following question period. She spoke against a government motion to double the maximum debate on the bill over the next week from 20 hours to 40. Sarauer was critical of the government's claim the bill can be scrutinized properly in a week.... 'To call that extra time, extra scrutiny, is an absolute joke and a farce, and it's slap in the face to democracy in this province. Especially when we're talking about a piece of legislation that's going to use the notwithstanding clause to trample on the rights of Saskatchewan children,' she said....

"Cockrill was asked if he was comfortable overriding the rights of children with this legislation. 'I think over the next number of days we're going to get into a debate on the collision of rights and how the notwithstanding clause addresses that. I know I'm comfortable with the legislation that's been introduced today and how that will play out,' he said.

Government and Opposition MLAs will return on Monday. It is expected that extended hours that will have the house sit from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. CST could start Tuesday and run until the following Sunday. Premier Scott Moe had called the legislature back early to introduce the new legislation before the fall sitting starts on Oct. 25.... Moe told reporters on Tuesday his government called an emergency session to introduce and eventually pass the bill in order to protect the policy from court challenges.

"'With respect to the notwithstanding clause itself, that is part of the Charter and it was put in place so that elected members in the future would be able to determine which of those rights ultimately would be in place moving forward. And that is ultimately why it is being utilized here,' Moe said."

Federal justice minister reacts to Saskatchewan’s plan to use notwithstanding clause | CPAC | October 5, 2023:

Friday, September 29, 2023

SK gov't to use notwithstanding clause in Charter to implement school gender policy

Saskatchewan gov't to use notwithstanding clause in Charter to implement Parental Rights and Inclusion school gender policy.

Sask. premier to use notwithstanding clause to veto judge ruling on school pronoun policy | CBC News | Jason Warick:

September 28, 2023 - "A Regina judge has ruled that the Saskatchewan government's naming and pronoun policy should be paused for the time being, but Premier Scott Moe says he'll use the notwithstanding clause to override it. Moe, responding to today's injunction issued by a Regina Court of King's Bench Justice Michael Megaw, said he intends to recall the legislature Oct. 10 to 'pass legislation to protect parents' rights.'

"'Our government is extremely dismayed by the judicial overreach of the court blocking implementation of the Parental Inclusion and Consent policy — a policy which has the strong support of a majority of Saskatchewan residents, in particular, Saskatchewan parents,' Moe said in a written statement Thursday afternoon. 'The default position should never be to keep a child's information from their parents.'

"Last month, the province announced that all students under 16 needed parental consent to change their names or pronouns. Moe previously said he stands by the policy and that the province will do everything in its power to protect parental rights.

"The notwithstanding clause is a provision that allows governments to override certain Charter rights for up to five years when passing legislation. The clause can only override certain sections of the charter which deal with fundamental freedoms, legal rights and equality rights.... Once invoked, the notwithstanding clause prevents any judicial review of the legislation in question....

"UR Pride [University of Regina Pride Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity] filed a lawsuit calling for the policy to be struck down. Their position was that it could cause teachers to out or misgender children and that policy violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Last week, lawyers for UR Pride argued for an injunction, pending a ruling in the lawsuit.

"The province's lawyers say the policy has been misinterpreted. They say parents should be involved when their children decide to change their names or pronouns....

"Megaw wrote that until there can be a full hearing, 'the importance of the governmental policy is outweighed by the public interest of not exposing that minority of students to exposure to the potentially irreparable harm and mental health difficulty of being unable to find expression for their gender identity.' Megaw ruled the policy cannot be implemented or enforced until its legitimacy has been decided by the court."

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Canada-wide protests over school gender policies

Arrests, heated exchanges mark rallies for and against teaching LGBTQ rights in schools | CBC News:

September 20, 2023 - "Competing protests sprouted up in cities and communities across Canada on Wednesday, as opposing groups loudly clashed on how schools address issues of gender identity.... Arrests were reported in Ottawa, Halifax, Vancouver and also Victoria — where Victoria police advised people to avoid the B.C. legislature amid protests they said had become 'unsafe' and which prompted at least two arrests.

"Earlier Wednesday, Ottawa police said two people were arrested for "inciting hatred" by "displaying hateful material" during a protest in the capital. An arrest was also reported at a protest in Halifax, where several hundred people participated in local protests and counter-protests. Another arrest was reported in Vancouver — where more than 1,000 people were present between the protests and counter-protests on Wednesday — but police did not immediately provide further details.

"Some parents and socially conservative groups are protesting LGBTQ-inclusive education policies in the classroom and in extracurricular settings under the banner of parental rights.... Policies emerging across the country, including in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, that require young people to get parental consent before teachers can use their preferred first names and pronouns are at the heart of these protests. Those opposed to parental consent rules say the policies are a violation of children's rights and that transgender youth should not be outed to their parents by teachers.

"In Ottawa, thousands of people faced off in front of Parliament Hill and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh led a group of counter-protesters down Wellington Street. The street was closed in both directions between Elgin and Bank streets as over 1,000 people gathered for demonstrations. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his support for LGBTQ people across Canada, via a statement on X, the former Twitter. 'We strongly condemn this hate and its manifestations," wrote Trudeau, who was in New York to speak at the UN Climate Ambition Summit....

In Hamilton, protesters marched from a local mall toward the headquarters of the local school board. Several hundred people, a total including both those involved in the protest and counter-protest, were present, according to CBC Hamilton.
The exterior of another school board in London, Ont., was a site where hundreds of protesters and counter-protesters appeared Wednesday.
In Calgary, police said more than 1,000 people were involved in protests and a fraction of that in related counter-protests, occurring Wednesday.
In Edmonton, police estimated that 1,200 people were involved in local protests and counter-protests in the provincial capital.
Saskatchewan's two largest cities saw protests as well, as did several cities in Manitoba.
In Yukon, dozens of protesters and several hundred counter-protesters stood on opposite sides of a street from one another in downtown Whitehorse on Wednesday.
In St. John's, Grand Falls-Windsor and Corner Brook, N.L., protesters gathered at government buildings and parking lots. These gatherings saw tears and heated back-and-forth arguments....
On Prince Edward Island, protesters gathered in downtown Charlottetown, where counter-protesters also made their presence known. A CBC News crew reported seeing a handful of skirmishes during the day's events — including an occasion in which a person was knocked to the ground....
British Columbia also saw protests and counter-protests in Kamloops and Kelowna, where hundreds of people from both sides met outside the courthouse and city hall, respectively, carrying signs and shouting slogans.
Protests also occurred in Prince George and Surrey, B.C."

Thousands gather for dueling protests over gender identity policies on school | CITY News | September 20, 2023:

Friday, September 1, 2023

Parents should be told if minors switch gender, say provincial governments

Education Ministers in four Canadian provincial governments are changing school policies, requiring parents to be informed when minor-age children change gender identity at school.

Saskatchewan mandates parental consent for name and pronoun changes at school | True North | Elie Cantin-Nantel:

August 22, 2023 - "The Saskatchewan government is requiring children under the age of 16 to obtain parental consent before they change their name or pronouns at school. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is the third premier to stand up for parental rights in the face of rampant gender ideology in public schools. The two others who have taken a pro-parent position on the issue are New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs and Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson....

"'Parents must be included in all important decisions involving their children,' said Moe. 'Our government has heard the concerns raised by Saskatchewan parents about needing to be notified and included in their children’s education,' said Education Minister Dustin Duncan in a news release.... The Saskatchewan government is also mandating that schools disclose information about sex-ed teachings to parents and provide them with the option to opt-out....

"Speaking to True North [video], Don’t Delete Parents founder Faytene Grasseschi said it’s 'becoming very clear across Canada that parents are voicing common-sense concerns'.... 'What is happening in New Brunswick, Manitoba and now Saskatchewan is waking up the nation, and I expect it will have an impact in other provinces as well.' added Grasseschi. 'Parents are just now waking up to the fact that some schools have been keeping things from them, and they frankly aren’t ok with it.'

"Not everyone in Saskatchewan is, however, on board with the government’s new parental rights policies. Saskatchewan NDP leader Carla Beck accused Moe and Duncan of 'outing vulnerable kids' while NDP MLA Aleana Young accused them of being 'f***king cowards.'"

New Brunswick’s fight for parental rights (feat. Faytene Grasseschi) | True North | July 2, 3023:

Canadian politicians stampeding away from policy of concealing gender transitions from parents | National Post | Tristin Hopper:

August 30, 2023 - "Canadian politicians are now stampeding away from a policy of public schools unquestionably affirming the self-described gender identity of children without informing their parents.... [T]he standing policy is that staff must immediately affirm the self-described gender identity of students ... and also withhold this information from parents upon request. 'Do not talk to anyone about (a student’s) identity, including parents/caregivers, to whom they have not already disclosed their gender identity,' reads the official guidelines on 'gender identity in schools' published by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

"In a surprise move last June, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs amended Policy 713 — a document governing gender expression in public schools — to require parental consent before a student could socially transition....
Last week, Saskatchewan also announced that parental consent would henceforth be required for a student under 16 to assume new pronouns or a new name (students over 16 can do it without parental consent)....
Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson announced plans earlier this month to amend the province’s Public Schools Act to broaden 'parental rights' surrounding gender identity. 'Parents want to know what’s going on in the day-to-day lives of their children,” Stefanson told reporters on Aug. 17....
And just on Monday, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce told a news conference that 'parents must be fully involved' in circumstances when a child decides to go by different pronouns at school.

"According to polls, Canadians are wildly in favour of this new tack. Even before Higgs went public with changes to Policy 713, a May Leger poll found that 57 per cent of Canadians favoured some form of parental notification in cases where a student was changing their gender identity. Only 18 per cent supported the status quo.... The results of an Angus Reid Institute poll released Monday were even more decisive. Of respondents, 78 per cent said that schools should inform parents if a student changes their pronouns, and 43 per cent said it shouldn’t be done without explicit parental consent. Only 14 per cent agreed with the statement 'parents should neither be informed nor have a say — it’s up to the child.'

"Progressive politicians and LGBT rights groups have been quick to call the proposed changes transphobic or even hateful. In a column for CTV, former NDP leader Thomas Mulcair said the likes of Higgs and Moe were 'promoting discrimination and intolerance' in a cynical bid for votes. Former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne accused Lecce of using parental rights to 'cover their trans and homophobia.'"

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

No remains found at Manitoba residential school

No human remains were unearthed during an archaeological excavation at a former residential school in Pine Creek, Manitoba.

Manitoba residential school excavation turns up nothing | True North | Quinn Patrick:

August 21, 2023 - "No human remains were found in the excavation of a church basement in Pine Creek, Manitoba, which was formerly part of a residential school run by the Catholic Church from 1890 to 1969. The four-week excavation was conducted after Minegoziibe Anishinabe, a first nations tribe northwest of Winnipeg, hired a team of archaeologists to dig up the church basement following 14 abnormalities that were detected in the soil by ground-penetrating radar equipment. The archaeologists were from the University of Brandon and have regularly assisted police on excavations throughout Manitoba.

"In his response to the dig’s results, Chief Derek Nepinak said it takes, 'nothing away from the difficult truths experienced by our families who attended the residential school in Pine Creek'.... Nepinak has asked that people continue to search for truth and not compare the results of their excavation to others across Canada. 'This does not mark the end of our truth-finding project,' said Nepinak.

"This isn’t the only residential school excavation that have concluded with no findings of human remains.

In August, 2021, a team of researchers in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia conducted an excavation at the former Shubenacadie Residential School in search of clandestine burials but to no avail.
In October of 2021, an excavation was conducted for unmarked graves on the site of former Camsell Hospital in Edmonton. The hospital used to treat Indigenous people who suffered from tuberculosis and some believed that the dig would uncover patients that had been buried there, however no such evidence was discovered.

"The calls for these and other excavations at former residential schools came in early 2021 after First Nations in Kamloops, B.C. claimed that the remains of 215 children were buried at the Kamloops Indian Residential School based on soil disturbances detected by radar. The Kamloops First Nations said that they couldn’t say for sure just how many potential burials are at the school with certainty because they have no intention of conducting an excavation at the site."

The Pine Creek Burial Boondoggle Needs Celebrating | True North | Hymie Rubenstein:

August 22, 2023 - "To its credit, and unlike any other such search for the remains of students associated with the former boarding schools, the RCMP was called in last October to assist with the investigation. Given all the accusations of school abuse, some passed down from generation to generation, band leaders, elders, knowledge keepers, and former boarding school students must have been devasted by the RCMP announcement on July 21 that:

The investigation into possible criminality in relation to potential burials at Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Roman Catholic Church has moved into a new phase. After a year of interviewing community members, conducting surveys, and following up on leads, the RCMP has not uncovered evidence at this time related to criminal activity specific to the reflections detected at the site.
In consultation with the community and partners, a way forward has been found. A community-led forensic anthropological dig in the basement of the church is taking place. If anything is located that is possibly related to criminal activity, the RCMP has plans in place and investigators assigned to continue the investigation.

Excavation of residential school site finds nothing | True North | August 21, 2023:

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Is US far right behind Canadian Muslim protests?

Some Canadian progressive media and politicians, including the Prime Minister, are blaming the American far right for recent protests by Muslim parents against school curricula.

Trudeau, left-wing media insult Muslims by calling us dupes of the far right | National Post | Rahim Mohamed:

July 18, 2023 - "The 2023 edition of the Calgary Stampede drew to a close this weekend, but not before the national media could squeeze out one more faux scandal ... after a photo of Conservative party finance critic Jasraj Singh Hallan (MP for Calgary Forest Lawn) flanked by three Muslim Canadian men at an outdoor Stampede breakfast surfaced on social media. Two of the men were wearing matching white t-shirts emblazoned with the words 'Leave our KIDS alone'.... (One of the men in the photo was identified as Mahmoud Mourra, the administrator of the Facebook group YYC Muslims and an organizer of last month’s protest against 'forced LGBTQ indoctrination in schools' in downtown Calgary.)

"Coming on the heels of two similar incidents earlier in the week (involving Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, respectively), the photo has spurred calls for both Hallan and Poilievre to clarify whether they agree with the message written on the t-shirts. As of Monday evening, neither man has responded to media requests for comment on the matter. The manufactured controversy also reflects a worrisome trend of left-leaning Canadian media outlets casting aspersions on Muslims communities for wrongthink on LGBT issues....

"A string of recent news stories have placed Muslim Canadians at the heart of an intensifying backlash against Pride events. These articles have characteristically portrayed conservative Muslim activists as wrongheaded dupes who’ve been manipulated by algorithms into carrying water for the far-right enemies of the LGBT community. The very same far-right that, not too long ago, fought against Muslim immigration.

"One particularly condemnatory write-up, published earlier this month in the Toronto Star, called it 'heartbreaking' to see Muslim groups at the forefront of anti-Pride demonstrations. The column’s author, social and racial justice columnist Shree Paradkar, alleges, 'leaders of the white far right, sensing weakness in the solidarity of right groups' have forged a temporary alliance of convenience with conservative Muslim activists. 'Images with visibly Muslim people in their midst make for an effective cover (against claims of white supremacism),' she adds.

"Prime Minister Justin Trudeau echoed this framing himself last week when he was filmed interacting with a group of Muslim men at Calgary’s Baitun-Nur Mosque. 'First of all, there is an awful lot of misinformation and disinformation (on) social media, particularly fueled by the American right wing,' Trudeau tells the men.

"'If you look at the various curriculums,' Trudeau continues, 'you will see that there is not what is being said out there about aggressive teaching or conversion of kids to being LGBT. That is something that is being weaponized by people who are not doing it because of their interest in supporting the Muslim community. These are people on the far-right who have consistently stood against Muslim rights and the Muslim community.'

"This conspiratorial (and, quite frankly, condescending) progressive narrative strips Canadian Muslims of their agency and delegitimizes the entirely valid concerns that thousands of Muslim parents across Canada have voiced over their children being exposed to mandatory educational content that’s diametrically opposed to the teachings of their faith.

"In dismissing the (organic) Muslim pushback against an overbearing Pride agenda as an astroturfed machination of the white-led far-right, progressives are exposing their own dim view of Muslims as a servile and easily manipulated band of nitwits. This patronizing and harmful progressive narrative needs to be called out for the hogwash that it is."

TRUDEAU’S LATEST CONSPIRACY THEORY: Says Muslim parents influenced by ‘far right’ | Toronto Sun | Lorrie Goldstein | July 15, 2023:

Sunday, May 7, 2023

Ontario independent schools up >50% since 2013

The number of independent schools in Ontario has grown by more than 50% in the last 10 years, despite the absence of tax funding.

Number of independent schools in Ontario grew by 52% since 2013 | Western Standard - Jonathan Bradley:

Nov 23, 2022 - "Ontario is seeing explosive growth in independent schools, according to a report done by the Cardus Institute.

"'Unlike Quebec and every Western province, Ontario offers zero taxpayer funding for independent schools, yet many parents value them enough to pay for tuition over and above the taxes they contribute towards district schools,' said Cardus Education Director and report co-author David Hunt in a Tuesday press release. 'Ontario’s Ministry of Education, political leaders, researchers, the media, and the public should seek to understand why our neighbours, friends, and family members are making these choices'....

"The report said there are at least 1,445 independent schools in Ontario — up by almost 52% since 2013-2014. Enrolment increased by 29,531 students from 2013-2014 to 2019-2020, the most growth of any Canadian province. The schools educated more than 154,000 students in Ontario as of 2019-2020.

"The report went on to say two-fifths of independent schools have a specialization, such as special education or Montessori. It added 4% of the schools are elite institutions. Three-quarters of elite schools are in the Greater Toronto Area. Less than two-fifths of them are religiously based.

"The report continued by saying one-quarter of independent schools are Jewish or Muslim. It said 64% of independent schools are in the suburbs, while 28% are in rural or semi-rural areas....

"Hunt said there is 'extraordinary diversity among Ontario’s independent schools.' 'Each school serves unique and specific student needs that district schools either don’t or can’t meet,' he said."

The Value of Independent Schools | Independent Schools Queensland, April 27, 2021:

OP-ED: Ford government should increase school choice in Ontario | True North - Michael Zwaagstra -

May 6, 2023 - "The Ontario government wants to promote diversity. That’s why it’s made 'equity' and 'inclusion' a key focus in K-12 schools. However, if Ontario wants to actually promote diversity in education, it should help increase school choice and expand the educational options available to parents.

"Unlike Quebec and the four Western provinces, Ontario does not fund independent schools, which means parents who wish to enroll their children in a non-government school must pay the full cost of tuition (along with their regular taxes that pay for the public school system). In essence, they pay twice for their children’s education.

"This might not be a problem for wealthier families who can easily afford high tuition fees, but it’s not so simple for middle- and lower-income families. As a result, only 6.9% of Ontario students attend independent schools compared to 13.2% in British Columbia and 11.7% in Quebec. The partial funding of independent schools by these provinces makes this option more affordable for many parents.

"Importantly, when provinces fund independent schools, they do so based on enrollment. Thus, it’s more accurate to say that money follows the student because independent schools only receive funds if parents choose to send their children there. Clearly, independent schools meet an important need for many families and should remain available as an option.

"Another positive reform would be to follow Alberta’s lead and allow the creation of charter schools. Contrary to what many people assume, charter schools are not independent schools but are rather autonomous, not-for-profit schools within the public system. And they’re non-sectarian, cannot charge tuition, and must be open to all students. Charter schools have proven to be quite successful in Alberta. Some charter schools, such as Foundations for the Future Charter Academy in Calgary, provide a traditional back-to-basics approach, while others, such as Boyle Street Education Centre in Edmonton, focus on alternative programs targeting at-risk youth. With the recent decision by the Alberta government to lift the cap on charter schools, the number of these schools—and the number of students enrolled in them—will continue to grow in that province."

Saturday, April 15, 2023

No bodies found yet at alleged mass grave sites

In the two years since the first shocking reports of mass graves at Canadian residential schools, not a single actual unmarked grave is known to have been found.

Canada’s grave errors | The Critic - Jonathan Kay:

April 2023 - 'Since 2017, the sesquicentennial of Canadian confederation, the country has been convulsed by a process of 'reconciliation' regarding Indigenous peoples.... Canada’s historical treatment of its Inuit, First Nations, and Métis populations often was marked by bad faith, racism and brutality. To this day, many Indigenous communities suffer high rates of poverty, suicide and substance abuse. Dozens lack even clean drinking water, a problem that has outlived the best intentions of a succession of federal governments, Liberal and Conservative alike. Even the most patriotic Canadian must admit that our record on this file constitutes a stain on the public conscience.

"Of particular note is the history of Canada’s residential schools, church-run institutions that were conceived in the nineteenth century as a means to teach English, French and job skills to indigenous students. Had this system been run on a purely voluntary basis, such a project might have been broadly defensible. But from 1920 onwards, attendance was mandatory. And so tens of thousands of homesick indigenous children were forced to attend European-style institutions far away from their home communities.... At least 3,200 Indigenous children perished after having been sent to these schools, out of a total enrolment of about 150,000. (Many believe the real victim tally is twice as high.) The main cause of death, tuberculosis, also ravaged white communities until well into the twentieth century. But even so, the death rate was markedly higher at residential schools than at other institutions. And the dark legacy of these schools was quite properly made the subject of a high-profile national commission, which reported its conclusions in 2015

"Knowledge of this backstory is required to understand what happened in the spring of 2021, when a First Nations community in Kamloops, British Columbia announced that a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey of the grounds of a former residential school indicated the presence of 215 presumed unmarked child graves. The story was instantly treated as a bombshell by the Canadian press corps, and by leading international media outlets as well.

"Most spectacularly, the New York Times reported that the First Nation in question, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc (previously known as the Kamloops Indian Band), had claimed the discovery of a 'mass grave'. In fact, the band’s leader explicitly disavowed the idea that any 'mass grave' had been found. Despite this, the original story remains on the New York Times site in uncorrected form to this day. The same is true of an equally botched New York Times story headlined 'How thousands of Indigenous children vanished in Canada' by the same reporter.

"In retrospect, it seems obvious that these claims of unmarked graves should have been taken with a grain of salt — since GPR data of this type does not directly indicate the presence of graves, much less caskets or actual bodies; but rather of soil dislocations that may also be associated with tree roots, irrigation ditches or previous efforts to locate graves.... I would like to report that I was one of those few wise owls who knew, right from the start, that the story didn’t add up. But I wasn’t. Media figures, government officials, and First Nations leaders all seemed certain that these were indeed actual graves ... of murdered children. During ... late May and early June 2021, mainstream media sources even repeated urban legends about babies thrown into furnaces and clandestine midnight burials. Surely, I thought, all of these public figures wouldn’t embrace such claims if real proof weren’t about to be sprung from the soil. After all, the GPR data indicated exactly where the remains of these supposedly murdered children were lying. All that was required was a forensic examination, something one might expect to occur within weeks....

"It’s been almost two years since those first shocking headlines broke. During this period, not a single actual unmarked grave is known to have been found — either at Kamloops, or any of the other First Nations communities that subsequently conducted their own GPR surveys. Not one. And yet, the credulous narrative that first emerged has continued to dominate Canadian discourse....

"In January 2022, a small conservative publication called The Dorchester Review published an essay entitled 'In Kamloops, Not One Body Has Been Found'. While the reporting it contained was entirely factual, [Justin] Trudeau’s Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, his schoolboy pal Marc Miller, accused the author of engaging in 'denialism'— a word clearly chosen to suggest a parallel with Holocaust denial. Frances Widdowson, a Canadian professor, was fired by her university after pointing out that no graves had been discovered.

"Not until May 2022, on the one-year anniversary of the original unmarked-graves story, did a large national media outlet, the National Post, publish a comprehensive account of how the Canadian media had been duped. And even then, the chairperson of the Canada Council for the Arts publicly demanded that other journalists shun both the author, Terry Glavin, and his journalism. This propaganda campaign worked. To this day, no other major Canadian outlet has dared follow the Post’s example, even as foreign publications such as the New York Post offer candid reports.

Justin Trudeau at alleged mass grave site, 2021.
PHOTO BY LIAM RICHARDS/POOL VIA REUTERS

"The personal intervention of not one but two Canadian federal officials in a bid to suppress accurate reporting provides an unusually vivid insight into the surreal state of Canadian politics under Trudeau, a man who’s made theatrical displays of national shame central to his political brand. The Prime Minister had planned an election for late 2021, and seized on the unmarked-graves story as yet another opportunity to get on one knee for the cameras. In June 2021, most notably, he hauled along a personal photographer to an Indigenous community in Saskatchewan so that he might capture the scene of Trudeau placing a teddy bear ... on the site of a former residential school.

"For Trudeau to now candidly admit that all of this political theatre had been performed on the pretext of an overhyped story would, of course, be mortifying — especially after he ordered flags lowered on federal buildings for more than five months.... Canada is, to my knowledge, the only country on earth where the PM showcases his role as leader of a self-confessed genocide state even while preparing to campaign for his own re-election.

"How will this all end? Possibly with bodies. Until the mid twentieth century, many poor Canadians, indigenous and non-indigenous alike, were buried in simple graves marked with wooden crosses that soon succumbed to the elements... While such a finding would hardly prove the lurid claim that legions of indigenous children were slaughtered and dispatched to secret burial sites, I imagine that this is exactly how such a discovery would be breathlessly reported.... But the equally likely result is that nothing at all will happen. There will be no bodies, but also no truthful national reckoning about our social panic, because everyone involved — politicians, academics, journalists — would be made to look foolish if the truth were to be widely and candidly admitted. And so they will all continue to go double or quits on a narrative that’s been growing more doubtful by the day since mid-2021."

Reprinted by permission of Mr. Kay.

Sunday, February 5, 2023

Kids lost avg. 4 months' learning during pandemic

Children Lost One-Third of a Year of Learning During the Pandemic, Analysis Finds | Reason - Emma Kemp:

February 3, 2023 - "According to a new analysis of over 40 studies from around the world, children lost an average of one-third of a year of school during the coronavirus pandemic. Researchers say the loss is largely due to the disruption and damage school closures — and the subsequent shift to distance learning—brought on children's physical and mental health. This latest assessment is further evidence that pandemic school closures contributed to historic learning loss among children — a loss that seems increasingly difficult to repair.

"Published on Monday by the Nature Human Behaviour journal, the analysis compiled the results of 42 studies examining pandemic learning loss from 15 countries around the globe. It found that, globally, children lost 35 percent of a school year's worth of learning during the pandemic.

"The studies also indicate that attempts to reverse the severe learning loss caused by COVID school closures have been far from successful. Upon returning to the classroom, the deficits created during the pandemic have remained 'incredibly stable," indicating that pandemic-era learning losses are likely to follow children throughout the rest of their academic careers. The deficits are particularly pronounced in mathematics, which ... 'might be due to parents being better equipped to help their children with reading, and children advancing their reading skills (but not their maths skills) when reading for enjoyment outside of school.'

"Learning loss was more pronounced in the middle-income countries, like Mexico and South Africa, included in the analysis. Indeed, middle-income countries accounted for the three highest estimates of learning loss. Studies from low-income countries were excluded due to poor data quality, though researchers note that 'learning deficits are likely to be even larger in low-income countries, considering that these countries already faced a learning crisis before the pandemic, generally implemented longer school closures, and were under-resourced and ill-equipped to facilitate remote learning.'

"Even in a high-income country like the United States, the magnitude of learning loss remained steep. One study included in the analysis found that the average public school student in third grade through eighth grade lost half a year of math learning and a quarter of a year in reading.

"However, two countries studied, Sweden and Denmark, managed to experience no significant learning losses. Sweden famously managed to avoid most school closures during the pandemic and notably never closed primary schools. While Denmark did have school closures, one study theorized that the lack of learning loss could be due to the country's 'reliable digital infrastructure with Denmark being one of the absolute top-scorers in digital skills, broad-band connectivity, and digital public services in Europe'....

"Currently, the picture for American children is bleak. Without immediate intervention, 'learning loss will be the longest-lasting and most inequitable legacy of the pandemic,' Thomas Kane, a Harvard economist who reviewed the analysis, told the New York Times. According to the Hoover Institution, U.S. children attending school during the pandemic are likely to experience a 5 percent reduction in their lifetime earning potential — a number that rises to as high as 9 percent in some states."

Read study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-022-01506-4

Monday, August 1, 2022

DC council mandates Covid-vax for students 12+

D.C. schools expand covid vaccine mandate, unlike most other districts | Washington Post - Lauren Lumpkin & Perry Stein:

July 31, 2022 - "D.C. students who are 12 and older must be vaccinated against the coronavirus to attend school this upcoming academic year. The youth vaccine mandate in D.C. is among the strictest in the nation, according to health experts, and is being enacted in a city with wide disparities in vaccination rates between its White and Black children.

"Overall, about 85 percent of students between the ages of 12 and 15 have been vaccinated against the virus, but the rate drops to 60 percent among Black children in this age range. If the city does not close this gap but does strictly enforce the vaccine mandate this fall, students of color — who experienced disproportionately large academic setbacks during the pandemic — could be at home in significant numbers next academic year.... School starts Aug. 29 in the D.C. system....

"D.C. is one of few districts to make coronavirus vaccination a requirement for attending school.... The requirement came from the 13-member D.C. Council, not from a school board. And because D.C. is a federal district rather than a state, there is no state health agency.... Elsewhere in the country, the New Orleans public school system in February added the coronavirus vaccine to its list of required immunizations for children 5 years and older. The rest of the state was scheduled to do the same for the upcoming school year, but changed course in May because the vaccines did not yet have full approval from the Food and Drug Administration for children under 16. Full approval for the vaccine for ages 12 to 15 was granted in early July....

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

"Students in New York City public schools must be vaccinated against the coronavirus only if they plan to participate in certain sports, musical theater or other activities the district deems to be 'high-risk.' Los Angeles Unified School District delayed a mandate that was to take effect in the fall, pointing to the vaccination rates among older students and what the district’s superintendent said had been low transmission in schools....

"31 percent of children nationwide between the ages of 5 and 11 have been fully vaccinated....

"D.C. has a long-standing reputation of failing to enforce its immunization requirements in schools. But officials say that this year will be different and that they have an urgent plan to get students their shots this summer. They are mailing fliers, placing ads at bus stations, sending out mobile vaccine vans to communities and calling thousands of parents whose children’s vaccinations are out of date. Health clinics are opening up hundreds more appointments each weeks for youth vaccinations.

"In addition to coronavirus vaccines, students must receive their routine immunizations — including for measles, polio and whooping cough — to enroll in school. Students have 20 days from the first day of school to be in compliance with vaccine requirements before they are barred from attendance.... Because the FDA has fully authorized the coronavirus vaccine for children 12 to 15 years old this summer, students in this age group have until around the end of September to get that vaccine, according to city law. Children under 12 are not required to get the coronavirus vaccine because the shots for this age group have received only emergency-use authorization....

"D.C.’s youth vaccine mandate has been nearly a year in the making. In October, the D.C. Council introduced legislation calling for the coronavirus vaccine to be on the list of vaccines required for enrollment in school. The law stipulate[d] that the mandate goes into effect only when the shot has received full FDA authorization.... For all vaccines, students can seek religious and medical exemptions.

"In the Washington metro area, D.C. is unique in its student mandate. Montgomery County Public Schools — Maryland’s largest school district, with roughly 160,000 students — has no coronavirus vaccination requirement for students. Under a policy set by the board of education, school district employees are required to submit proof of vaccination or be tested weekly. Prince George’s County Public Schools, also in Maryland, has no coronavirus vaccination requirement for staffers or students.... Among Northern Virginia’s school systems, staff vaccinations against the coronavirus are required in Alexandria City and Arlington public schools. The school districts in Fairfax and Loudoun counties are not mandating employee vaccination."

Saturday, June 25, 2022

SCOTUS gets school funding decision right

Overlooked in the controversy over their overturning of Roe v. Wade was another SCOTUS decision that will also have a great impact on children in the future.

The Death of Separationism and the Life of School Choice | Law & Liberty - John O. McGinnis:

June 23, 2022 - "In a Supreme Court term of many consequential decisions, Carson v. Makin stands out for its likely enduring legal and political effects. In Carson, which was handed down on Tuesday, the Court held that Maine could not prevent parents from using its tuition assistance for rural residents at sectarian religious schools. As Chief Justice Roberts said, a 'State need not subsidize private education. But once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.'

"The case is the culmination of a series of rulings in which the Roberts Court has held unconstitutional any condition that withholds generally available state aid from religious institutions. Previous cases had prevented aid from being withheld on the basis of the religious identity of the institution. This case extends that principle to prevent it from being withheld on the basis of the religious use to which the institution puts the tuition assistance — in this case to a school that includes religiously based instruction. The Free Exercise Clause requires neutrality between religious and nonreligious institutions and uses to which citizens can put their government-provided assistance.

"The doctrine of unconstitutional conditions is familiar across the breadth of constitutional law. A state, for instance, could not prevent citizens from using generally available tuition assistance for private schools on the basis of what a teacher said about the American Revolution, because that would be an unconstitutional condition on free speech. Carson makes clear that the doctrine of unconstitutional conditions is as applicable to Free Exercise as to other constitutional rights.

"The broader significance of Carson v. Makin is that the Court has made it clear that the Free Exercise Clause will be treated like other rights and will not be limited by the nonoriginalist principle of Separation of Church and State. The case ... spends little time quoting sources from the founding on the meaning of either the Free Exercise or Establishment Clause. It is nevertheless informed by the movement toward originalism, because what has historically distinguished the treatment of the Free Exercise Clause from other rights is a nonoriginalist view of the Establishment Clause, namely that it incorporates a broad and wooly principle of Separation of Church and State. And that view was itself sometimes supported by a faulty originalism, relying on a few snippets from founding era materials, like Thomas Jefferson’s 'wall of separation' comment in his reply to a letter from the Baptist Church in Danbury, Connecticut.

"If the Constitution had indeed established a principle of complete separation, it is plausible that a state would have a compelling or at least substantial interest in preventing parents from using generally available aid at a religious school. Separationism would suggest that religious institutions and the state must have no connection. Separationism also animates the notion there must at least be some 'play in the joints' between the two Clauses, meaning that a state’s concern about the Establishment Clause could justify restrictions on the scope of Free Exercise rights.... But the Carson majority notably does not deploy the phrase, 'play in the joints.' The dissents by Justice Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor rely on that phrase a total of nine times between them. The dissents also expressly relied on separationism, while the majority dismissed any separationist concern. Thus, the meaning of the Establishment Clause is what ultimately divides the Court....

"Scholarship debunking the separation of church and state as the original principle lurking behind the Establishment Clause has been crucial to recent developments in the religion clauses, because it provides the background for Carson’s doctrinal moves. In particular, Philip Hamburger’s magisterial Separation of Church and State shows that there was very little opinion at the time of Framing that attached anything like this principle to the Establishment Clause. The use of the term by Thomas Jefferson (not of course a Framer) was extremely unusual. Instead, according to Hamburger, what animated the Establishment Clause was the concern of religious dissenters that they not suffer discrimination and that the state, as Hamburger puts it, not take 'cognizance' of religion by creating religious tests and putting other religiously infused requirements into law. Measured against this understanding of the meaning of 'establishment' and its dangers, Carson’s insistence that religious schools not be discriminated against in generally available programs is completely consistent with the Establishment Clause’s strictures. A program that is non-preferential between secular and any religious education hardly establishes a religion....

"Carson is not only important for what it does for Establishment Clause jurisprudence but what it does for the school choice movement. That movement already has political momentum. First, many public schools have been heavily criticized for closing for too long during the pandemic with substantial losses of learning, particularly for the poorest students. Second, many parents are furious with what their public schools are teaching, viewing commonly used history curricula in particular as tendentious and unpatriotic. Many also worry about an emphasis on equity over excellence. As a result, a parental rights movement is emerging as a powerful electoral force.

"School choice is the logical institutional manifestation of parental rights. A parent who can choose the school his or her child attends has more influence on the child’s education. At a traditional public school, a parent can only vote in a school board election, and once the school board is elected, he or she retains no substantial leverage at all. School choice provides the invaluable right of exit. Carson assures those who want to send their children to religious schools that religious choices can never be excluded from a choice program. Thus, it energizes parents who want a religious alternative to the traditional public school to join with parents who want alternatives for secular reasons. The ruling thus contributes even more energy to one of our most important contemporary social movements."

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Pennyslvania parents fight school mask mandates

Masked schoolchildren, Godfrey, Texas. CBC Photo: L.M. Otero/Associated Press

Pennsylvania judge rules in favor of parents, removes five board members over mandatory masks in schools | Post Millennial - Katie Daviscourt:

March 30, 2022 - "A Pennsylvania judge ordered the removal of five school board members in West Chester on Tuesday after a parent petitioned the courts to remove board members that voted to make masks mandatory in schools. Judge William P. Mahon ruled that all five Democratic West Chester Area School District board members need to be 'removed from office.' Those members are board president Sue Tiernan, and directors Joyce Chester, Kate Shaw, Karen Herrmann, and Daryl Durnell.

"Judge Mahon wrote that his decision came after there was 'no response' to the petition by the school district or its counsel, according to court documents.

The announcement was posted on Twitter by a group called Moms for Liberty whose mission, according to their website, is to fight '...for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.'

"Beth Ann Rosica, a parent in the West Chester Area School District who holds a PhD in Education, filed the petition in February in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas. In the filing, the petition states that board members are causing children '...permanent and irreparable harm due to their fabricating, feigning or intentionally exaggerating or including a medical symptom or disease which results in a potentially harmful medical evaluation or treatment to the child and as such, the (school directors) are to be held accountable.' The petition also alleged that school directors have '...created and implemented illegal policies that violate Constitutional rights and, as such, cause irreparable harm.'

"Talking to Daily Local News after the petition was filed in February, Beth Ann Rosica explained that 'We have been fighting this battle for a year.' 'The school districts are just not responding and not listening, so the only thing we have left to do is to recall the board members. We don't believe they have the legal authority to (mask the kids). Our kids have been masked in school for a year and a half. It's not acceptable. They are not their parents and they don't get to make these decisions for our children'....

" Kenneth Roos, attorney at Wisler Pearlstine LLP, which is representing the board members, said that they would be filing a motion to reconsider."

Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Lockdown restrictions tightened in Ontario

Full list of Ontario COVID-19 restrictions for starting Jan. 5 | CTV News - Miriam Katawazi:

January 3, 2022 - "The Ontario government announced more COVID-19 restrictions on Monday due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, saying the province will return to a modified Step 2 of the reopening plan. Premier Doug Ford announced the new measures during a news conference....

Social gathering limits will be reduced to five people indoors and 10 people outdoors.
Capacity will be limited at organized public events to five people indoors.
Businesses and organizations will need to ensure employees work remotely unless the nature of their work requires them to be on-site.
Capacity at indoor weddings, funerals, and religious services, rites and ceremonies will be limited to 50 per cent capacity of a particular room. Outdoor services are limited to the number of people that can maintain two metres of physical distance....
Retail settings, including shopping malls, will be permitted at 50 per cent capacity. For shopping malls, physical distancing will be required in line-ups and food courts will be required to close.
Personal care services will be permitted to operate at 50 per cent capacity. Saunas, steam rooms, and oxygen bars will be closed.
Public libraries limited to 50 per cent capacity.
Indoor meeting and event spaces are required to close with limited exceptions, but outdoor spaces can remain open with restrictions.
Indoor dining at restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments will no longer be permited. Outdoor dining with restrictions, takeout, drive through and delivery is permitted.
Indoor concert venues, theatres and cinemas will be closed, but rehearsals and recorded performances are permitted with restrictions.
Museums, galleries, zoos, science centres, landmarks, historic sites, botanical gardens and similar attractions, amusement parks and waterparks, tour and guide services and fairs, rural exhibitions, and festivals will all close. Outdoor establishments will be permitted to open with restrictions and with spectator occupancy, where applicable, limited to 50 per cent capacity.
Indoor horse racing tracks, car racing tracks and other similar venues will close. Outdoor establishments will be permitted to open with restrictions and with spectator occupancy limited to 50 per cent capacity. Boat tours will be permitted at 50 per cent capacity.
Indoor sport and recreational fitness facilities, including gyms, will be closed, except for athletes training for the Olympics and Paralympics and select professional and elite amateur sport leagues. Outdoor facilities will be permitted to operate but with the number of spectators not to exceed 50 per cent occupancy and other requirements.
All publicly funded and private schools will move to remote learning starting January 5 until at least January 17, subject to public health trends and operational considerations.
School buildings would be permitted to open for child care operations and to provide in-person instruction for students with special education needs who cannot be accommodated remotely.
On Jan. 5, the Chief Medical Officer of Health will reinstate Directive 2 ... instructing hospitals to pause all non-emergent and non-urgent surgeries and procedures."

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