Less than two weeks out from the start of school, the Ontario government has rolled out its new sex education curriculum.
The new curriculum unveiled on Wednesday (Aug. 21) contains much of the same elements in the Liberal’s 2015 curriculum that was repealed by the Progressive Conservative government, however, there are some notable differences.
Older students will be taught gender identity, moving the topic up from Grade 6 to Grade 8, while cannabis use will be taught to children beginning in Grade 5 and discussions on concussions beginning in Grade 1.
Sexual orientation will be a mandatory topic taught in Grade 5, earlier than in the repealed curriculum, which had it in Grade 6.
Gundi Barbour, president of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario Upper Grand Local, says her issue is that parents will now be allowed to exempt their child from the curriculum altogether.
NDP education critic Marit Stiles says premier Doug Ford spent much time and money playing a “political game” by scrapping the old curriculum only to essentially reinstate it.
