Sask. requiring school divisions to create change room policies that respond to ‘local input’

WATCH: Premier Scott Moe and his Saskatchewan Party are moving forward with a school change room policy. Wayne Mantyka has the details.

The Saskatchewan government is moving forward with its plan to implement change room policies in schools across the province — but what those policies are will be up to school divisions to decide.

In a news release Thursday, the Ministry of Education announced it was requiring all school divisions to establish their own formal policies on the use of school change rooms that “upholds the privacy, dignity and comfort of all students.”

Premier Scott Moe initially pitched sweeping rules for school change rooms in the run up to the Oct. 28 election, after an online publication ran a story outlining concerns about two 12-year-old trans students using a girls’ change room at a southeastern Saskatchewan school. The two students in the story were later identified on social media as the children of NDP MLA Jared Clarke.

Responding to the story at the time, Moe it would be his “first order of business” to ban “biological boys” from changing alongside “biological girls.” He recanted that stance after the election, and Clarke later called on Moe to apologize for putting his children in the crosshairs of public scrutiny.

The announcement Thursday marks a significant shift in tone on the issue, centering privacy, comfort and dignity.

“Ultimately, what is important for us to ensure that every student in Saskatchewan has a safe learning environment,” Minister of Education Everett Hindley told CTV News.

“That when they go to school, that they feel they are accommodated, and they feel it is a safe space.”

The Ministry of Education says it expects school divisions to come up with policies in collaboration with the relevant parties, such as students, parents and teachers.

The decision was welcomed by the Saskatchewan School Boards Association.

“[Its] essentially respectful of the autonomy of boards of education, which is something our organization has long lobbied,” Shawn Davidson explained. “That’s a hill that we stand on, very loudly, that our structure is set up the way it is for a very good reason.”

“The locally elected school boards did appreciate the opportunity to handle these issues locally,” Hindley added. “To make decisions and [conduct] consultation with parents and with citizens within their school divisions.”

In the government’s announcement, it noted that it will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that local input is being respected and heard.

Some say the decision is a relief that the matter is coming back to local school divisions but feel that it never should have been up for debate in the first place.

“My relief is that we have clear guidance from the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code that gender identity is a protected ground,” explained University of Regina Associate Professor j skelton. “And its clear that everyone has a right to use spaces that best represent their gender identity, so we have some clear guidance there.”

“I hear this as saying, ‘School divisions, tell us how you’re going to operationalize that.’”

School divisions will need to have their policies in place, communicated to stakeholders and publicly available by June 30, 2025.