The editors of GayCalgary Magazine and I have been watching the increasing awareness of the impact bullying has on LGBT youth. We’ve seen Dan Savage’s "It Gets Better" campaign grow beyond what we would have expected. We’ve seen other campaigns and discussions evolve out of it, and we are heartened by the increase in awareness and by the fact many institutions and governments are now putting mechanisms and procedures in place to stop or sharply reduce harassment of LGBT youth.

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) oversees 200 schools and 100,000 plus students. Diane Roulson, Manager, Diversity, Learning Services and Nancy Lukey, System Principal, Learning Services agreed to discuss with us what they are doing to make schools better for diversity, for respect, and for the individual.

Admittedly, with the sheer number of students, you can’t create procedures to fit every situation, as Nancy tells us. "It’s hard to isolate because our resources are about the safety and well being of all students, regardless of the issue that a student might come forward with.  We would hope that our schools are safe and caring places for everyone. And part of our responsibilities...no matter what age we’re at, is that our students have a relationship with adults in that building, where, should any issue arise, they are comfortable, they have a couple of people they could go and talk to."

Having said that, she did tell me there are some formal positions like mentors and guidance councillors available to help students.  "It really is about having a caring adult in a building where kids can go and discuss issues that they are struggling with," be it bullying, cultural issues, sexuality, abuse or any other issues where an adult’s help and advice is required.

That being said, there are specific ways schools deal with LGBT youth issues. "We  recognize that this is a particularly vulnerable group," Diane states. Beyond the aforementioned support networks, one of the things they have noticed is youth often create their own support network, "so some of our schools...have a gay/straight alliance. Basically that’s a student-run, but teacher-sponsored or teacher-supported group. The purpose for it would be to create a safe, caring, and respectful little community for sexual gender minorities and their allies."

Other schools may provide the support in a different way – they may have links with various community organizations which visit the school frequently so the student can then be linked directly with this community support.

Furthermore, within their "Communication and Life Management" (CALM) classes, LGBT topics are discussed, and many teachers will often invite a guest speaker in to discuss particular subject matter. The guest speakers will often bring in resources from their support group, or let the kids know about other community support networks, (e.g. Calgary Outlink, MYN, and Mosaic).

Unfortunately, there are some limitations: specifically, Bill 44. Quoting directly from the Calgary Board of Education’s website:

What this means for LGBT issues is that, when a CALM class has a speaker or discusses this subject matter, parental permission is required. Consequently, some parents have the right to ask that their child not be part of the discussion. "However...our former minister of Education was very clear that GSAs do not fall under Bill 44." Basically, extra-curricular activities and groups are exempted from the aforementioned regulations.

What’s even more interesting is the current Education Minister (Thomas Lukaszuk) has explicitly spoken up on the issue of bullying LGBT youth, and how respecting diversity is important for everyone. His videos challenged everyone – school boards, youth, parents, teachers, government, and school districts to make it better now. In these videos, they made a point of showing LGBT youth and posters of Gay/Straight alliances in schools as an effort to put it above the radar. "I think he set a really strong example for us in this province."

For LGBT youth, they may not want to come forward to teachers/mentors/councillors to discuss any questions they have regarding their sexuality – as they may be afraid this information will get back to their parents. In a counselling situation, if a student shares that they are beginning to question gender identity issues, I was assured it is kept between the student and the adult at the school. There is a duty to inform in situations where the student is using drugs, alcohol or doing anything which endangers their life or the lives of others, but "if it’s not a safety issue, then that’s not something we would need to disclose."

Regarding issues of sexuality, while a teacher may suspect the child is experiencing some questions surrounding their sexuality, they must wait for the student to approach the issue – they aren’t permitted to imply or lead the student.

Nancy affirmed this process, and added that there are ways to let the student know a conversation on sexual orientation can be opened with a teacher/mentor at the school. There are Safe Spaces posters available from the Alberta Teachers Association. These posters indicate that a classroom or an office is a spot where human rights are respected and LGBTQ students, teachers, family, friends and allies are welcome and supported. "If you’re hanging a Safe Space poster in your classroom, it would indicate you are open to a conversation."

One tricky scenario that we discussed was where bullying can arise from family members or parents. Again, Nancy and Diane were careful on this subject, telling me what CBE is allowed to do "...depends on the nature and intensity of the bullying that the child has disclosed to us...if in our assessment it’s bordering on emotional abuse, then we would report that to Child Family Services. We are obligated...if there is an indication that this child is being emotionally abused for any reason, then we are obligated to make that information available to Child Family Services." This includes emotional, physical and sexual abuse, of course.

This is regardless of any religious or cultural views the family may have on the topic. Now to be clear, a discussion has to be held between the child and the teacher/counsellor at the school, at which point those adults can then decide to notify the authorities depending on the case, who will then further investigate. It’s not a black and white area, it is imperfect, however there exists a possible rescue for the child

Adolescents have another recourse available to them through the Children’s Advocate program. An adult or teacher can’t contact the Advocate, but "a student can phone the Children’s Advocate if they are feeling their rights are not being protected in whatever environment they’re in." The Advocate has a number of services available for children, including free legal services.

Finally, to reassure me further, Diane and Nancy told me the CBE continues to look at themselves on an organizational level and their responsiveness as a system when it comes to diversity and inclusion. They’re aware there is greater visibility and awareness happening now with sexual and gender minorities and they want to build on that. They’re working with other school boards to formulate their best practices; they’re examining what current research is out there and generally not standing still on this issue.

What is encouraging to me, as someone who grew up in a system where there was no support, is that this issue is now being discussed, and the level of support for LGBT youth is growing. I hope it will prevent any more incidences of bullying, or suicides due to bullying. I have heard from several teachers and their partners about suicides that have happened here in Calgary and they, if not ALL OF US wish we could have helped the ones that are gone. It’s not enough just to tell the kids "It gets better" - it’s up to all of us to make it better.