The Greater Victoria School Board has given the green light to a policy that will create gender-neutral washrooms and change rooms within the district.
The board approved a motion Monday night to give transgender and gender non-conforming students more support “in all aspects of school life.”
That means students will be able to access bathrooms or change rooms of the gender that they identify and are most comfortable with, despite their gender at birth. That includes schools ensuring that at least one single-stall gender neutral bathroom is accessible to students.
The policy also creates new resources within schools for students and teachers, including education surrounding gender identity and expression, establishment of clubs dedicated to gender and sexual minority inclusion, and the reduction or elimination of sex-segregated activities.
It will also ensure there will be one adult at every school who acts as a resource for transgender and gender non-conforming students.
The policy passed with a majority vote, with one trustee voting against and another abstaining from voting.
