Morgan Price, the education and outreach co-ordinator at the Saskatoon Sexual Assault and Information Centre, said before the province’s pause in 2023, her organization did hundreds of school presentations a year.Liam Richards/The Globe and Mail
A pause on third parties providing sexual education in Saskatchewan schools ordered by the province more than two years ago is putting students at risk of harm and denying them an education on topics such as abuse prevention, organizations that had previously worked in schools say.
The province announced the pause in August, 2023. The decision was made after an incident in which Grade 9 students accessed age-inappropriate materials during a presentation by Planned Parenthood that were not intended to be shared with the students.
When the government announced the pause, it said it would conduct a review of educational resources to make sure they align with the goals of the curriculum.
Nearly two-and-a-half years later, third-party organizations are still barred from classrooms.
“There is no timeline for the duration of the pause on third party presentations related to sexual health,” the Ministry of Education said in a statement.
The government “continues to look at options moving forward,” the statement said.
Only teachers and the Saskatchewan Health Authority are permitted to present sexual health materials in the classroom.
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With no end in sight for the pause, some organizations are trying to get back into classrooms to teach materials they say are not sexual health education, but still important for students to learn. Many teachers may want third-party organizations to offer their expertise in matters such as healthy relationships but are fearful of running afoul of the government, said Samantha Becotte, president of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, the union that represents schoolteachers in the province.
“With the uncertainty of what is sexual education, what is not sexual education, what would be allowed and what would not be allowed, I think teachers do likely err on the side of caution,” she said.
Last month, Morgan Price, the education and outreach co-ordinator at the Saskatoon Sexual Assault and Information Centre, penned an open letter to educators across the province informing them that the SSAIC’s school-based programming on abuse prevention is available as of Jan. 1.
“Third-party organizations that do not present on sexual health education are still able to present in classrooms,” the letter said.
“We haven’t adjusted any of our subject matter, but we’re trying to rebrand how our programs are viewed,” Ms. Price said in a phone interview. “We have always felt as though our programs fall more into an abuse prevention education category as opposed to sexual health education.”
Prior to the summer of 2023, the SSAIC would do “hundreds of presentations a year” in schools, Ms. Price said.
The SSAIC has received many calls from educators saying they need help but are reluctant to bring the organization in to their classrooms, Ms. Price said.
“They’re really feeling at a loss,” she said.
It has also been launched to help children who are experiencing sexual abuse, she said.
“There’s no guarantee that the kids that really need to know about this information the most are getting it in a consistent way,” Ms. Price said.
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OUTSaskatoon, a nonprofit community centre, delivered a program in schools prior to the pause that focused on preventing the spread of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections, as well as creating safer schools, how to talk about gender identities and how to create healthy relationships.
It no longer does any of that programming as a result of the pause, said education manager Analu Alvarez.
Sometimes, students would raise issues that required support beyond the classroom presentation, she said.
“Certain things arise, not only questions but concerns about safety,” Ms. Alvarez said. “So it was a very good moment to talk to them and connect them with support, or talk to them one on one and help them navigate a difficult situation.”
All students benefit from education on sexual orientation and gender identities, said Scout Gray, director of national programs for the ARC Foundation, a charitable organization that works to reduce LGBTQ discrimination in schools.
“If educators are not engaging in these topics, that’s taking away from the students,” they said.
The organization does not present in schools, but instead provides resources to educators, such as training modules and online lesson plans that explore ideas about gender and other topics.
There has been a chilling effect among teachers since the pause, Mx. Gray said.
“We’ve seen that impact where educators are just hesitant to engage with us at all,” they said.
Ms. Price said she would like to see “some sort of very direct guideline” from the Ministry of Education clarifying what can and cannot be presented in classrooms.
In the meantime, the programs the SSAIC is hoping to deliver should not be controversial to anyone, she said.
“Arguably, there shouldn’t be anyone who doesn’t believe that youth should know what abusive behaviour is and how to identify it so that they can avoid it.”
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