Manitoba’s new health and physical education curriculum will also include changes to how sexual education is taught in the province.
A spokesperson for Education Minister Tracy Schmidt confirmed to CBC News that sex ed is included in the health curriculum overhaul — which makes in-person phys-ed classes mandatory for all students in kindergarten to Grade 12 — announced last week.
Starting in September, the new curriculum will roll out through a voluntary two-year pilot program. The current curriculum hasn’t been updated in 25 years, the province said.
Schmidt said more than two dozen schools across the province have volunteered to participate as of Thursday. Teachers and parents will be able to give feedback during the pilot.
The new health curriculum is expected to be fully implemented in the 2028-29 school year.
Schmidt’s spokesperson said in a statement on Friday that the “renewed” curriculum “reflects the realities young people face today.”
Manitoba to make in-person phys ed mandatory for kindergarten to Grade 12 students
It includes “developmentally appropriate, factual and comprehensive information to make health-promoting decisions for positive outcomes related to relationships, safety, and well-being,” the minister’s spokesperson said.
But with the health curriculum not yet available to the public, it isn’t explicitly clear what changes the pilot will bring for sexual education in Manitoba. Schmidt previously said the new curriculum will be published online at the start of the start of the school year.
Kaitlyn White, program coordinator with the Sexuality Education Resource Centre’s (SERC) office in Brandon, said the organization was consulted about the curriculum but they haven’t seen it and they don’t know what’s been updated.
SERC hopes to see clearer and more inclusive discussions around sexual orientation, gender identity and diverse relationship dynamics, as opposed to “vague” health class discussions around respecting diversity, White said.
More open discussions about these topics is a key part of developing more comprehensive sexuality education, White said.
“Comprehensive sexuality education has been proven to reduce things like gender-based violence, helps us build healthier and safer schools and communities — and it’s quite literally suicide prevention,” White said.
“Ultimately, I think that including this kind of material in the curriculum and mandating it will help us create safer and healthier communities.”
However, the province’s current sex ed programming “leaves so many of our students without relevant education” because it demonstrates a bias toward the identities of heterosexual and cisgender people, White said.
“Research shows that when sexuality education only discusses cisgender, heterosexual, monogamous relationships, we’re perpetuating disrespectful and unsafe environments for all students and all staff,” White said.
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Two human rights complaints were filed by several parents in 2017, alleging that Manitoba’s school curriculum discriminates against 2SLGBTQ+ families by not providing adequate learning materials that reflect the realities of many families in the province.
A Manitoba Human Rights Commission investigation found the curriculum was discriminatory, but the commission’s board voted to dismiss the complaint. The human rights commission was ordered to reconsider the complaint by a Court of Queen’s Bench justice in 2021.
CBC News reached out to the Manitoba Human Rights Commission about the status of the complaint but did not hear back.
White said it’s “unfortunate” that provincial officials didn’t publicly announce that the sexual education curriculum was changing, unlike the physical education portion of the update. But they’re keen to see the new curriculum when it’s available online.
Opposition Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan said his party is supportive of updating the curriculum to address issues students face in today’s changing world.
However, he says he’s concerned that the NDP government divulged sparse details shortly before classes start in September.
“I would like to see what they’re proposing,” Khan said in a Friday interview.
“We would be in support of updating the curriculum with consultation with teachers, with the appropriate people at the table,” he said.
White is hopeful that the two-year pilot project will lead to more comprehensive health education for students across Manitoba — and soon.
“We want to make sure that we’re not sitting with the current material for another 25 plus years again,” they said.
