A Canadian school board has demanded a new “professional” dress code for teachers following uproar over a “transgender” teacher in the district who wears giant prosthetic breasts to school.
Trustees on the Halton District School Board in Ontario unanimously passed a motion earlier this month ordering the director of education to create a dress code that emphasizes “appropriate and professional standards of dress and decorum in the classroom,” according to Fox News.
When the outlet contacted the school board for comment about the dress code change in relation to the backlash over the transgender teacher, the school board’s education director reportedly “reaffirmed the importance of human rights for ‘underserved and underrepresented’ groups.”
The director stated that the school board’s commitment to human rights is “rooted in our core values and commitment to each and every student and staff who identifies as a member of an underserved and underrepresented group, and our approach is informed by opinions from leading employment law firms with human rights and equity advisors.”
As Townhall covered, photos of the teacher at Oakville Trafalgar High School went viral last fall. As the backlash began, the school district defended the biological male teacher's choice of donning prosthetic breasts to class.
“We are aware of discussion on social media and in the media regarding Oakville Trafalgar High School. We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate to our community that we are committed to establishing and maintaining a safe, caring, inclusive, equitable environment for all students and staff,” an email to the school community said.
“Oakville Trafalgar High School recognizes the rights of students, staff, parents/guardians, and community members to equitable treatment without discrimination based upon gender identity and gender expression,” it continued.
Some students have recorded images of the trans teacher at Oakville Trafalgar High School in Ontario, Canada and put them on social media: pic.twitter.com/QzsFtqauZq
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) September 17, 2022
Some more photos of the @HaltonDSB #trans teacher in Ontario, Canada. The school stands by its tech teacher, saying it honors the human right of gender expression. pic.twitter.com/z2rbe8Vip3
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) September 23, 2022
Rebel News obtained and published more previously-unseen footage of the controversial manufacturing technology trans teacher (Kayla Lemieux): pic.twitter.com/Jes53CNCYJ
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) September 23, 2022
After images of the teacher circulated the internet, students were banned from photographing him, Townhall also covered. The school district issued a statement claiming that it is “committed to establishing and maintaining a safe, caring, inclusive, equitable environment for all students and staff” and added that “gender identity and gender expression are protected grounds under the Ontario Human Rights Code.”
At the time, parent within the school district whose name was not published told the Toronto Sun that “Lemieux gets a personal escort (and) protection everywhere he goes.” The Sun added that the school district “made protecting her [Lemieux’s] rights a priority” and “it seems they have no answer on how to deal with Lemieux.”
Perhaps a new dress code is a good start.
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