WRDSB to hear delegations Monday on importance of transgender and queer reading materials

Discussions will continue tonight at a Waterloo Region District School Board meeting following last week's incident where a delegate was removed from the meeting after she was accused of using transphobic language in her presentation.

Tonight’s agenda includes eight delegates, the majority of which are about last week's incident that saw a delegate removed from the school board meeting for comments surrounding some transgender reading material she felt was inappropriate.

Delegation subjects include: Supportive Environments and Resources for Transgender, Non-Binary and Two-Spirit Youth, LGBTQ2+ Literature, Inclusion of Transgender and Non-Binary Reading Materials, Importance of Queer Representation in Children's Literature and the Importance of Transgender Reading Materials.

The Waterloo Region District School Board committee of the whole meeting will be held tonight via video conference on the school board YouTube channel at 7 p.m.

At last week's school board meeting, Carolyn Burjoski was removed while presenting her concerns about specific books in school libraries being inappropriate for children. 

During her presentation, Burjoski was halted by board chair Scott Piatkowski who said that he was concerned that her delegation may be problematic.

Burjoski said on her Twitter page that she has been silenced and punished after her presentation to the board where she read excerpts from children's books and commented on their age appropriateness. She later gave an interview to the National Post.

The Waterloo Region District School Board issued a statement on Thursday expressing "deep regret for any harm caused to the transgender community."

"As a school board, we are guided by the Ontario Human Rights Code and committed to doing our best so that all students are affirmed in their identity and see themselves reflected in their learning environment," the board said.

Last year, the Waterloo Region District School Board announced it would begin a multi-year project to review texts that may be ‘harmful’ to staff and students.