Toronto District School Board Create Cash Prizes For Best Gay-Straight Alliances

Parent Central reports on the Toronto District School Board’s creation of a prize for the three best gay-straight alliances in its school, the winning clubs each earning $1,000, the Director of Education Chris Spence saying Thursday “This will shine the light on our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and queer students and their allies and provide resources for them to bring others along.” He added that “It’s a new part of our commitment to create inclusive schools, and demonstrate our commitment to move from conversations to actions.” The awards will be granted to those gay-straight alliances that “have demonstrated a committed effort in helping create a school climate that is safer and more positive for students and staff of all sexual orientations and gender identities.” The Ontario ministry of education has enacted new policies requiring school boards to create gay-straight alliances or similar clubs as a way to promote equity and inclusion. Late last week, it was revealed that the Halton Catholic District School Board had banned gay-straight alliances from being formed because such clubs contradict Catholic teachings, however that ban has since been lifted temporarily and trustees have agreed to revisit the ban at a meeting January 19th. The Toronto District School Board, conversely, initiated a massive Positive Space campaign in the fall to fight homophobia, a part of which was the promotion of gay-straight alliances. To date, there are alliances in 31 of the TDSB’s 104 high schools.