June 17, 2020 -- At the meeting of June 16, 2020, the report from the Special Committee for Diversity was presented to the Regina Board of Education.
The Special Committee on Diversity was initiated as a result of a defeated Board Motion on October 15, 2019. The Regina Board of Education requested the formation of a Special Committee for Diversity with representation from Division Administration, School Division employees, community members and members of the public. The Committee membership included three Division Administration staff, two principals, one teacher/guidance counsellor and four community members. The Committee’s first meeting was in January and, in total, had seven meetings. Several of the meetings were remote meetings, as the Covid pandemic required physical distancing.
One of the mandates of the Committee, as defined in its terms of reference, was “…to guide and inform existing Regina Public Schools administrative procedures, practices and school-based activities related to issues of diversity.”
Report Highlights
The Special Committee on Diversity focused on making recommendations relating to Comprehensive School Community Health, specifically looking at:
- Effective Policy
- Family and Community Engagement
- High-Quality Teaching and Learning
- Healthy Physical and Social Environments
The Committee’s work led to the creation of a report with a recommendation for 15 actions to guide continued support for the diverse population served by Regina Public Schools.
- These actions included:
- Acknowledgement and Recognition -- affirmation of Gender and Sexual Diversity as a universal human right
- Policies and Administrative Procedures -- non-gendered language, gender and sexual diversity administrative procedure, Treaty 4 recognition and other language changes
- Creation of Committees -- Regina Public Diversity Steering Committee - membership from LGBTQ2S+ community, Indigenous peoples, new Canadians, the multicultural community, inclusive/disability community and the faith-based community - staff, students and parents and external resources
- Administrative Procedure 138 – Display of Flags -- new protocols for flag raising and for special event flags to be flown inside and outside of schools, including a new application form
- Division-Endorsed Activities -- must be communicated to the families of students at least one week in advance. These events include Orange Shirt Day, Treaty Four Celebrations, Day of Pink, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Pride Week and Day, National Indigenous Peoples Day.
The report and its recommendations are the responsibility of Regina Public Schools Administration. See the Report here.
A link to the presentation to the Board is here.
Watch the June 16 meeting of the Regina Board of Education at which the report was presented here.
