if there's a dress code for the students there should be one for the teachers. The school just doesn't want to be sued by the Trans teacher.
Public pressure hasn’t made the Halton District School Board change its policy regarding a teacher wearing huge fake breasts to class, but perhaps legal action will.
A group of parents has hired a lawyer to push the board to take action on the dress and deportment of teacher Kayla Lemieux.
Rishi Banhu, a labour law specialist from Oakville, has written to both the board and Education Minister Stephen Lecce asking for action.
“The board has refused to enforce any standards or expectations with regard to Ms. Lemieux’s work attire,” Bandhu wrote.
His letter goes on to demand the board explain their position on the lack of a dress code for teachers when Lemieux’s style of dress clearly violates the student dress code. He also demands the board engage with parents and the school council at Oakville Trafalgar High School on this matter.
“My clients reserve their rights to pursue all forms of legal action concerning this matter, including judicial review,” he wrote.
A group of parents calling themselves Students First Ontario is raising money to support legal action against the board. So far, they have raised just over $7,500 of their $10,000 goal.
Bandhu though is looking to the province to step in and solve the matter. In his letter to Lecce, Bandhu asks him to exercise his authority under Section 303(2) of the Education Act, which would allow the minister to impose a dress code.
“A board shall direct a principal to establish a local code of conduct if the board is required to do so by the Minister, and the local code must address such matters and include such requirements as the Minister may specify,” the act reads.
Lecce has been pushing the board to take action since the story broke in September. He referred the issue of professional standards to the Ontario College of Teachers, which ruled that the board had all the powers they needed to enforce a dress code similar to the one students must follow — but the board has refused to do so.
“I think the bottom line and our position is that when kids are in front of staff, we expect them to uphold the highest standards of professionalism,” Lecce said Monday.
He specifically said he doesn’t think the board has acted appropriately in this case and called on them to do so.
Despite public pressure, pressure from ministry bureaucrats and direct pressure from the minister himself, the board has not moved. Their claim is that imposing a dress code on teachers, Lemieux in particular, would be a violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Kjerstin Karlsson, a post-op transwoman, wrote after a column earlier this week to say that Lemieux’s conduct is inappropriate for a school.
“This teacher is making it more difficult than ever, even if she doesn’t realize it, for trans individuals to live their lives and be respected,” Karlsson said, noting Lemieux’s conduct could be having a negative impact on trans students as well.
“Human rights only go so far, if she wants to wear prosthetic breasts that large may I suggest a nightclub and not a learning institution.”
That is a common sense and respectful view, which can’t be said for Lemieux’s choices or the Halton school board’s acceptance of them.
If the board hasn’t acted up until this point, it’s doubtful they will change course in the face of legal action. If the education act allows Lecce to order the board to establish a dress code, he should do it.
This ordeal has become a distraction for students, parents and teachers.
torontosun.com
Public pressure hasn’t made the Halton District School Board change its policy regarding a teacher wearing huge fake breasts to class, but perhaps legal action will.
A group of parents has hired a lawyer to push the board to take action on the dress and deportment of teacher Kayla Lemieux.
Rishi Banhu, a labour law specialist from Oakville, has written to both the board and Education Minister Stephen Lecce asking for action.
“The board has refused to enforce any standards or expectations with regard to Ms. Lemieux’s work attire,” Bandhu wrote.
His letter goes on to demand the board explain their position on the lack of a dress code for teachers when Lemieux’s style of dress clearly violates the student dress code. He also demands the board engage with parents and the school council at Oakville Trafalgar High School on this matter.
“My clients reserve their rights to pursue all forms of legal action concerning this matter, including judicial review,” he wrote.
A group of parents calling themselves Students First Ontario is raising money to support legal action against the board. So far, they have raised just over $7,500 of their $10,000 goal.
Bandhu though is looking to the province to step in and solve the matter. In his letter to Lecce, Bandhu asks him to exercise his authority under Section 303(2) of the Education Act, which would allow the minister to impose a dress code.
“A board shall direct a principal to establish a local code of conduct if the board is required to do so by the Minister, and the local code must address such matters and include such requirements as the Minister may specify,” the act reads.
Lecce has been pushing the board to take action since the story broke in September. He referred the issue of professional standards to the Ontario College of Teachers, which ruled that the board had all the powers they needed to enforce a dress code similar to the one students must follow — but the board has refused to do so.
“I think the bottom line and our position is that when kids are in front of staff, we expect them to uphold the highest standards of professionalism,” Lecce said Monday.
He specifically said he doesn’t think the board has acted appropriately in this case and called on them to do so.
Despite public pressure, pressure from ministry bureaucrats and direct pressure from the minister himself, the board has not moved. Their claim is that imposing a dress code on teachers, Lemieux in particular, would be a violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Kjerstin Karlsson, a post-op transwoman, wrote after a column earlier this week to say that Lemieux’s conduct is inappropriate for a school.
“This teacher is making it more difficult than ever, even if she doesn’t realize it, for trans individuals to live their lives and be respected,” Karlsson said, noting Lemieux’s conduct could be having a negative impact on trans students as well.
“Human rights only go so far, if she wants to wear prosthetic breasts that large may I suggest a nightclub and not a learning institution.”
That is a common sense and respectful view, which can’t be said for Lemieux’s choices or the Halton school board’s acceptance of them.
If the board hasn’t acted up until this point, it’s doubtful they will change course in the face of legal action. If the education act allows Lecce to order the board to establish a dress code, he should do it.
This ordeal has become a distraction for students, parents and teachers.
LILLEY: Parents threaten lawsuit, call for Lecce to act on Oakville trans teacher
A lawyer hired by a group of Oakville parents has demanded changes by the school board and called on the education minister to intervene.
torontosun.com
