FIND POLICIES
Gegi is a busybody and has read every school board policy in Ontario to find information about what should be done in your very own school to prevent discrimination, or make it stop if it’s happening. Tell us your school board and we'll show you what we found!
WASHROOM ACCESS
Using the washroom at my school is a problem.
The bottom line.
You have the legal right to use a washroom that matches your gender identity.
If you are a cis or trans boy, you get to use the boys’ washroom. If you are a cis or trans girl, you get to use the girls’ washroom. If you are nonbinary, you get to use the washroom you feel comfortable with, including if you only feel comfortable using an all-gender washroom.
Many school buildings are old and don’t have all-gender student washrooms, but your school must accommodate you.
PLAYING SPORTS
I want to play on a school sports team, and I’m wondering how that will go because of my gender.
The bottom line.
You have the legal right to play on a school sports team that matches your gender identity.
If you’re a cis or trans boy, you get to play on the boys’ sports team. If you are a cis or trans girl, you get to play on the girls’ sports team. If you are nonbinary, things get more complicated because there aren’t yet nonbinary or all-gender school athletics.
‘Co-ed’ team sports sometimes require a certain number of boys or girls, meaning that they are not all-gender in principle. If you are nonbinary, you get to play on the team you feel most comfortable with.
FIELD TRIPS
I'm going on an overnight field trip, and I'm wondering how that will go because of my gender.
The bottom line.
You have the legal right to stay in gender-designated housing (rooms, dormitories, etc.) that matches your gender identity.
If you’re a cis or trans boy and you feel safe there, you get to stay in the boys’ dorm. If you are a cis or trans girl and you feel safe there, you get to stay in the girls’ dorm. If you are nonbinary, you get stay in the dorm you feel most comfortable with or in a separate space.
This is also true if you are a trans boy or trans girl but don’t feel safe in the dorm that matches your gender identity.
NAMES & PRONOUNS
People constantly call me the wrong name and/or pronouns at school.
The bottom line.
You have the legal right to be called the correct name and pronouns at school. The person who determines the best name and pronouns for you, is you. Teachers, administrators and other school staff can’t insist on calling you by the legal name on your Ontario School Record, or by the pronouns associated with the sex on your birth certificate.
It can take time for people to learn a new name for you, or to say a pronoun that isn’t the one they would say without thinking. But you should be seeing effort, like teachers correcting themselves, each other and students. You should also see improvement over time. If you are not seeing effort and improvement, you may be experiencing gender expression or gender identity discrimination.
YOUR SCHOOL BOARD POLICIES
Some school boards have specific policies about gender diversity. Let's see what your board has.
Things to know.
There are two kinds of policies (remember: this is a document with instructions to adults in your school about what they should do) that can help: gender diversity policies that instruct teachers, administrators and other school staff in a variety of situations, and discrimination, harassment or bullying policies that instruct staff about what to do when these things happen. Let’s see what we can find!