Paul Tuns:
Lou Iacobelli, a former educator who blogs at Everyday for Life, says parents should inform their children’s schools that they want to exempt their children from the province’s Human Development and Sexual Heath expectation for the child’s grade. Iacobelli said that all children in Grade 1-8 are expected to learn the sex-ed curriculum as part of the Ontario Health and Physical Education program but they can be exempted if their parents inform schools of their intention to withdraw their children from those classes.
Writing at Everyday for Life, Iacobelli said, “In too many cases, under the topic of sex-education children have been exposed to porn and immoral sex acts” under the guise of education. He said, “Children have come home asking parents if it’s true that they can change their names and sex?” as he wondered, “What else has happened at school that we don’t know about?” Iacobelli said “A child’s brain isn’t developed enough to properly process such radical sexual information,” but that parents can protect their kids.
Under Policy/Program Memorandum 162, parents can fill out an exemption form for each grade and for each child every school year. “The important thing is to do it,” says Iacobelli. “Parents have a right to demand the exemption. Don’t accept no for an answer. It’s a legal requirement from the Ministry of Education that school boards must provide.” There is no academic penalty for doing so.
Some school boards, such as the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board has made the exemption process easy to access on their website. Others have not. He said if it is not easy to find, contact the school board and ask why it is not easy to access and complete. In all cases, the request must be made in writing and be signed by a parent; exemptions are not granted orally, in either person or over the phone.
The form should provide options that include having the student leave the classroom and remain under staff supervision within the school, to remain in the classroom but not take part in any instructional activities related to Human Development and Sexual Health, or be released to the care of the parent or an approved designate.
Iacobelli stressed that the form must be completed annually for each student because the curriculum is different from one year to another.
While not perfect – the exemption does not apply to sexual health-related topics that arise outside of formal instruction in Human Development — Policy/Program Memorandum 162 ensures that parents can shield their children from designed instruction that violates the family’s moral views. Part D of the curriculum includes controversial topics such as masturbation, gender identity, sexual orientation and gender expression.
