The New Westminster school district will be taking a pro-active approach to developing an anti-homophobia policy, said school superintendent John Woudzia.
At Tuesday night's regular school board meeting, outgoing trustee Lori Watt proposed the policy, which is similar to one that neighbouring Burnaby implemented earlier this year.
But in Burnaby, a huge controversy erupted over policy 5.45, the Burnaby school district's attempt to stamp out homophobic bullying in schools.
No other education issue in recent memory has raised as much controversy in Burnaby as this issue, including rallies (both for and against), impassioned speeches at school board meetings and death threats, Angry parents turned out in droves last summer and even formed an ad hoc group against the policy.
Woudzia doesn't expect that to happen in New Westminster.
"The anti-homophobia policy is something we'll look at,' he told The Record Thursday morning. "We already have some policies on this embedded in some of our current policies."
For example, Woudzia cited the district's current policy on diversity and anti-discrimination as having some language that addresses the anti-homophobia issue.
Woudzia said that while he's followed the Burnaby situation from afar, he hasn't had calls from Royal City parents to institute a similar policy.
"That's why we want to take a pro-active approach and try to consult with all our stakeholders," said Woudzia. "I don't think it's a big concern in our district because our values have always been centred around empathy, respect, compassion and social responsibility."
One suggestion already under consideration is to make the proposed policy less negative by taking the 'anti' in 'anti-discrimination' and changing it to something more positive.
Watt's proposed motion calls for the district to "develop a sexual orientation/gender identity policy including recommendations on curriculum, safety and inclusion appropriate for the schools and community at large."
School trustee James Janzen, who works in Burnaby for the home library service, said the lessons from Burnaby are ones trustees will learn from.
"If anything, we saw where it could go wrong," he said. "That's why we'll involve everybody and have as much consultation as possible."
Janzen agreed that there hasn't been a hue and outcry from local parents asking for the implementation of the policy.
"I think the reason why this came forward when it did was because this was something Lori always wanted to do," said Janzen. "There just didn't seem to be a right time until now."
Trustee Casey Cook agreed that being pro-active and having lots of consultation will serve the process well.
"I'm fully supportive of a policy that focuses on inclusion ... There's no question we want our schools to be as safe as possible for all our students."
Cook agrees that the lesson to be learned from Burnaby is to take your time and make sure all opinions are heard.
"In Burnaby, it was a clash of values. There were a lot of deep, divergent thoughts ... I'm optimistic we will have something in place for the next school year. If we can get everything done by the end of June, I'd be happy."
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