If you have any questions about the letter or want to edit it, please contact Makita Mikuliak at mak.mklk@gmail.com, Keltie Hamilton at k.hamilton@uleth.ca, or Brent Saccucci bfsaccucci@gmail.com.
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Re: Against Education Act Amendments
We, the undersigned educators, educational researchers, librarians, and citizens of Alberta condemn the propositions in ministerial order #030/2025, Bill 27, and the resulting amendments to the Alberta Education Act (amendments 6 and 7 to section 18), and the subsequent individual school division procedure policies that came from this.
Mandating for school boards to not permit resources that deal “primarily and explicitly with gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality unless the learning and teaching resources are approved by the Minister” along with the changes made regarding external parties presenting to students, is not in the spirit of creating teaching and learning environments that are informative, culturally responsive, inclusive, and safe for all students. For those of us that are certified teachers and administrators, these new changes directly contradict our legal duties set in the standards of the Leadership Quality Standard (LQS) competencies 1a, 1b, 1c and 4a – and the Teacher Quality Standard (TQS), particularly competencies 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1f. These legislative changes also contradict our legally-binding professional code of conduct – particularly 1a, 1b, and 1d as well as 1f.
In relation to section 16(1) of the amended Education Act on the ministerial approval of content that speaks about human sexuality, educators and parents alike are concerned that not allowing students to have access to this information may lead to misinformation on safer sex and consent. As the UNESCO World Report on Sexuality Education (2018) states – it is a safety concern to not teach children age-appropriate concepts around the names of body parts, puberty, and eventually sex and sexuality. We know children are vulnerable when they are kept ignorant; with sexual abuse and gender-based violence occurring even within schools, in particular residential schools. It is dismissive of survivors of both residential schools and childhood sexual abuse to not have the ability to teach age appropriate lessons on sexuality and consent. We believe that those who have extensive training and expertise in teaching should be leading conversations on classroom resources, not receiving approval from boards or ministers who have no experience teaching or in classrooms. Importantly, Alberta is the only province in Canada (other than Saskatchewan, 2023) spending public tax payer dollars to have ‘ministerial approval’ of classroom resources.
When it comes to asking school boards to not permit resources that deal primarily and explicitly with gender identity or sexual orientation we assert that the restriction of this content goes against teachers agency to carry out the fourth Teaching Quality Standard “Establishing Inclusive Learning Environments” as it undermines teachers ability to “[establish, promote, and sustain] inclusive learning environments where diversity is embraced and every student is welcomed, cared for, respected and safe.” Not being able to engage with content that discusses gender identity or sexual orientation creates a space where harassment and violence against students thrives. According to Taylor & Campbell (2024), nearly half of 2SLGBTQ+ students were victims of verbal harassment and are twice as likely to be victims of physical harassment due to their gender or sexuality. As one student says in the study, “One of my friends was outed and she doesn’t feel safe in her class anymore. Transphobia is absolutely rampant, and lots of people make rape or sexual assault jokes.”
The research from both academic and government sources is clear: 2SLGBTQIA+ youth experience more bullying and mental health issues than their cisgender/heterosexual peers. Affirmative practices – like calling a student by their correct name and pronouns, and representing sexuality and gender in appropriate ways in the curriculum, are evidence-informed ways to directly combat this harm. Importantly, including diverse curriculum and affirming student’s names and pronouns does not adversely affect other students in any way.
The current ministerial order is an attempt at curriculum control and a clear attack on teachers across the province due to the exclusion of the Libraries Act (2024). Many of us took part in the survey that closed on June 6th and feel as though our responses were not taken into account as the survey results show the largest number of survey respondents, in every demographic category, answered that they were “not at all supportive” when answering the question on the Government of Alberta “setting consistent requirements for school boards in how they select and manage school library materials.” The current ministerial order is ignoring these results. It does not consider the importance of the contextual and professional judgment of teachers. Further, it is unreasonable to ask teachers to approve every book in their classroom and provide an itemized list of all resources by October 1st. This is in addition to the burden of out-of-control class sizes, stagnant wages that have not kept up with inflation, increasing student needs with minimal support, and the lowest spending per student in the country. We will not rest until the government permanently halts the Education Act amendments and brings teachers back into the conversation around what is best for students.
As of September 2, 2025 the Government of Alberta has paused the book ban and we hope they have done so in response to the overwhelming evidence citing the harm it will do. We demand teachers and librarians are publicly invited to a new, transparent and public working group on the future of Ministerial Order #30 and the amendments to the Education Act. Minister Nicolaides and Premiere Smith: Listen to the research and the concerned citizens of Alberta – we trust our certified teachers. Do you?
Yours in Education,
Brent Saccucci, Instructor, University of Lethbridge
Keltie Hamilton, Instructor, University of Lethbridge
Shannon McAlorum, Librarian, University of Lethbridge
Eleanor Golding, Administrator, University of Lethbridge
Romany Craig, Professional Librarian, University of Lethbridge
Makita Mikuliak, Staff, University of Lethbridge
Conor Snoek, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge
Lorrain Lebeuf, counsellor, Edmonton Public Schools
Carol Knott, Teacher, Elk Island Public School Division
Riana Khem
Brooklyn Plouffe, Student Teacher, University of Lethbridge
Cytrina Ogle, Teacher, Holy Spirit Catholic School Division
Samara McIntosh, Recreation Therapist, Recovery Alberta
Noah Hirlehey, Education Student, University of Lethbridge
Krista Shortridge
Alex Sasyniuk
Julisha Roache
Michelle GarciaVega, Instructor. Lethbridge Polytechnic
Jonathan Cluett, Physician, Chinook Regional Hospital
Phil Williams, Teacher, Lethbridge School Division
Jenica Buttazzoni
Mia van Leeuwen, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge
Julia Brassolotto, Associate Dean, University of Lethbridge
Carolyn Saccucci
Amélie Chabot, PSIII Student Teacher, Lethbridge School Division
Morgan Ortiz, Bachelor of Education Student, University of Lethbridge
Aaron Stout/ Instructor/ University of Lethbridge
Franco Saccucci, School of Business, MacEwan University
Cora Moorhead, Teacher, Calgary Board of Education
Josh Campbell, Teacher, Lethbridge School Division
Carla Carnaghan, University of Lethbridge
Natasha Kelly
Madison Hetu, PSIII Student Teacher
Dawn McBride, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge
Miranda Leibel, Assistant Professor of Liberal Education, University of Lethbridge
Jordan Hanas, Teacher, Lethbridge School Division
Chelsea Ekstrand, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge
Samuel Yamamoto, Teacher, Lethbridge School Division
Stephanie Murray, Education Student, University of Lethbridge
Greg Ogilvie, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge
Janice Victor, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge
Katelyn Scott, CTRS, MSc., Instructor and Internship Coordinator, University of Lethbridge - Faculty of Health Sciences
Aimee Douziech, Instructor, University of Lethbridge
Erin Kardolus, Instructor, University of Lethbridge
Janelle Fyfe, Program Specialist, University of Lethbridge
Erin Lynn, Education Student, University of Lethbridge
Andrés Banda Peñafiel, Career Coach
Kate Schramm, concerned Albertan
Amy Milaney, Teacher, Rocky View School Division
Tatiana Navarro-Bellavance
Kevin Bellavance
Andy Zhang, MLIS Student, University of Alberta
Emily Gale, Assistant Professor, University of Lethbridge
Allan Gergel, Library Information Systems, University of Lethbridge
Serena Visser, Assistant Professor, University of Calgary
Lisa Starr, Dean, Faculty of Education, University of Lethbridge
Amy Marco, Registered Psychologist, Lethbridge AB
Glenda Martens
Jenna McDonald, Instructor, University of Lethbridge
Dr Glynnis Lieb, Executive Director, U of A
Amy Kamel, Intern Librarian
Clark Adams, Post-Secondary instructor, Calgary
Emily Simon, MLIS Student, University of Alberta
Alex Gallaway, Teaching Intern, University of Lethbridge
Lansing Mills, Academic Advisor, University of Lethbridge
Mikala Onnalee
Pat Hoffarth
Maddi Claassen, Education Student, University of Lethbridge
Evgeny Kuznetsov, PhD Student, University of Alberta
Marina Mikuliak Teacher Holy Spirit School Division
Chris Tuck, Teacher, Lethbridge School Division
Abryanna Storey, Education Student, University of Lethbridge
Shyan Polson, Teacher, Grasslands Public School Division
José M. Barbieri, Retired, Research Technician
Alex Funk, Teacher, Lethbridge School Division
Gillian Robinson, Assistant Professor, University of Alberta
Marissa Crosswhite, Intern Teacher, Universiy of Lethbridge
Kiana Piche, Education Student, University of Lethbridge
Elizabeth Sentner, Registered Nurse
Chris Harris, Teacher, Lethbridge School Division
Inge Genee, Professor, Iniskim University of Lethbridge
Amy Mack, Assistant Professor, University of Lethbridge
Stacey Gaudette-Sharp, Assistant Dean, University of Lethbridge
David Hobbs, Associate Professor, ULethbridge
Borries Demeler, Professor, University of Lethbridge
Brendan Ritchie, Assistant Professor, University of Lethbridge
Athena Elafros, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge
Julie Crain, Sessional Instructor, Faculty of Education
Jason Laurendeau, Professor of Sociology, University of Lethbridge
Brittany Lewis, Instructor, University of Lethbridge
Adriana Lima, Instructor, University of Lethbridge
Kyra Svrcek, Instructor, University of Lethbridge
Rob Sutherland, Professor, University of Lethbridge
Chris Kerich, Assistant Professor, University of Lethbridge
Sheridan Macaulay
Jennifer Mather Professor Emeritus University of Lethbridge
James Sanders, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge
Rumi Graham, Librarian, University of Lethbridge
Brent Devos, Professor, University of Lethbridge
Mary Siever, instructor, University of Lethbridge
Suzanne Lenon, Professor, University of Lethbridge
Bryn Hughes, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge
Holly De Caigny, professor, University of Lethbridge
Bryan Kolb, Emeritus Professor, Dept of Neuroscience
Elizabeth Schultz, Professor, University of Lethbridge
Kevin Wood, Assistant Professor, University of Lethbridge
Morgan Magnuson, Instructor, University of Lethbridge
David Balcarras, Assistant Professor, University of Lethbridge
Hayley Tanton, Student Teacher, University of Lethbridge
Sonia Zarrillo, Research Associate, The Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy, University of Lethbridge
Michelle Hogue, Professor, University of Lethbridge
Peter Dibble, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge
Robbin Gibb, Professor, University of Lethbridge
Patrick Wilson, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge
Ashley Gollert, Instructor, University of Lethbridge
Shea Mellow, Vice Principal, Lethbridge School Division
Christine Clark, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge
Andrew Fiori, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge
Timothy Schwinghamer, Chair, Lethbridge Pride Fest Society
Habiba Kadiri, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge
James MacKenzie, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Lethbridge
Caroline Hodes, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge
Sandra Stringer, Instructor III, Department of Music, University of Lethbridge
Amanda Ervin, Research Assistant & PhD Student, University of Lethbridge
Tif Semach, Ph.D Candidate and Instructor, University of Lethbridge
Laurie Pacarynuk, Instructor, University of Lethbridge
Joanne Wolochaty, Session Lecturer, University of Lethbridge
Lars Hollstrom, Professor, Director, Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy