Part of the policy change announced Tuesday by Saskatchewan’s Minister of Education was that school divisions in the province must immediately pause involvement with any third-party organization such as the ARC Foundation and its SOGI 123 program which is described as helping educators make schools inclusive and safe for students of all sexual orientations and gender identities (SOGI).

Responding to an inquiry from our newsroom, Saskatoon Public Schools says it has had preliminary meetings with the ARC Foundation over the past school year to discuss the potential use of their resources in classrooms, which are aligned with curriculum outcomes, including the health curriculum. The statement says, “The school division will be working over the coming days to better understand what today’s announcement means going forward.”

And a news release from the Saskatchewan Teacher’s Federation in regards to the policy change says the announcement further indicates that the Saskatchewan Party is using education as a political weapon. STF President Samantha Becotte says this is a political response to a government losing support in a by-election to a far-right party. While the Saskatchewan Party won the recent Lumsden-Morse by-election, some of the right leaning vote went to the new Saskatchewan United Party. In that same round of by-elections, the Saskatchewan New Democrats claimed victories in both Regina Walsh Acres and Regina Coronation Park, ridings previously held by the Saskatchewan Party.

The final by-election count took place on Tuesday and the decisions remain the same in each riding.  For detailed results click here.