Grandmother calls on Brandon School Division to remove LGBTQ and sexual education books

Brandon School Division is facing a growing call to remove children's sexual education books and LGBTQ-related content from libraries in Manitoba.

Brandon constituent Lorraine Hackenschmidt was at Brandon School Division's Board of Trustees meeting Monday calling for the removal of "transgender books in our school libraries." 

"I am a very concerned person who has done research on the subject of the LGBTQ ideology," Hackenshmidt said at the meeting, referring to herself as a former school board trustee and a grandmother of five students in the division.

"We must protect our children from sexual grooming and pedophilia. The sexualization agenda is robbing children of their innocence."

Brandon Sexuality Education Resource Centre program manager Kerri Judd says it's very concerning to see people asking for LGBTQ books to be removed — especially because many children rely on their school to be a safe space of inclusion and respect.

"We're seeing this in many parts of the province. And if we look at what's going on in the United States, I think that it's not that big of a surprise ... I'm just disappointed that it's a conversation that's happening within the community I live," she said.

Judd's three children attend schools in Brandon. She now worries for them, their friends and their LGBTQ peers. These discussions have the potential to impact their education, especially if books end up getting banned.

"It is completely inaccurate and false and actually really disgusting that people associate gender identity to pedophilia," Judd said. "It's a false narrative … and so it has nothing to do with one's gender identity."

She says LGBTQ community members and allies are motivated to share their perspectives and debunk misinformation shared at the meeting — especially because it affects students, teachers and families in the community.

"By removing books that represent who they are, they are potentially removing that safety and inclusion piece for young people," Judd said. "We want all people to feel proud, safe and healthy about our identities."

What's being asked?

Hackenshmidt is calling for some LGBTQ-related, sexual education and other books to be pulled from school libraries.

Hackenshmidt also called on the division to create a committee to look at which books are appropriate for children and "remove those with vulgar language, description of sexual acts, those that are of pornography content."

"I just asked that you would remove any books that caused our kids to question whether they are in the wrong body," Hackenshmidt said. "They are certainly not in the wrong body. They are fearfully and wonderfully made."

School trustee Breeanna Sieklicki praised the "courage" of Hackenshmidt and the dozens who attended the meeting with her, encouraging them to return to the next meeting as a show of support.

Brandon School Division superintendent Mathew Gustafson told CBC they are preparing for the next meeting on May 23 to be packed by the public. The board is expected to respond to Hackenschmidt's request at that time.

Gustafson says it's not unusual to see members of the public appear at a board meeting — but he hasn't seen a request like a book removal before.

"If there are the concerns around resources of any kind, the usual process is somebody will contact the school principal, there may be a referral to guiding policies and around with the appropriateness of that and decisions made on that," Gustafson said. "We have administrative procedures and policies that help guide them."

Politicians react

Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont condemned the book ban request at the Legislative Assembly Wednesday, calling it disgusting for its "terrible accusations" against educators and librarians.

"You don't get converted to being 2SLGBTQ by reading a book," Lamont said. "I want my children to be safe and this includes being safe from extremists who want to take away our freedom of choice and freedom to read."

He called on the Progressive Conservatives to take a stance against the proposal.

"When teachers and librarians are considered targets we should all be concerned," Lamont said.

Minister of Advanced Education and Training Sarah Guillemard said the board was elected by the public and has autonomy to look at these issues as they rise, and this means parents can raise concerns. She says the party will closely follow the outcome of the discussions about the book removal request.

"Our government supports an inclusive and supportive environment for all students to learn. We trust that the trustees also are looking at the best interests of students," Guillemard said.

Impacts on education

Students must see themselves represented in school resources for their well-being, says Patty Douglas, a professor in the faculty of education at Brandon University Faculty of Education. Douglas says human sexual diversity, neurodiversity and all kinds of diversity are normal, and children, just like adults, have the right to be able to see themselves represented.

"I think that bullying ... of kids who are different is ubiquitous. It happens all the time, every day. You know, educational trauma happens every day for kids who come from, you know, non-white cultures, from non-normative family arrangements and this will just worsen that," Douglas said.

"School then becomes something to survive rather than thrive in."

University of Manitoba political scientist Sarah Hannan says the call to remove books in Brandon shows two issues coming together: protecting transgender kids and the queer community more broadly, combined with a more general point about book banning.

"They're not pornographic materials. They are sex education materials. And schools should be in the business of educating people about their own bodies and about their sexuality," Hannan said. "That is a crucial part of ... everyone's well-being."

She expects there will be major pushback from LGBTQ members and allies against the book ban request. 

"It's not OK to attack or denigrate or mistreat any members of our community," Hannan. "If that isn't your intention and you have genuine fear and concern for content, then let's talk about it."

Bracing for more

Brandon and Area PFLAG chair Laura Crookshanks has been fielding calls from families upset by the presenter at the board meeting "talking about transgender people in the same sentence as pedophilia."

She says community members are now concerned about the safeguards in place to ensure everybody's rights are protected in the division.

"I think it's alarmed a lot of people to think that a group could present to the school board and if they follow through with their request to form a committee, they could start looking at which books they might choose to remove from the shelves of public schools," Crookshanks said.

Western Manitoba Regional Library executive director Erika Martin says the goal at the Western Manitoba Regional Library is to have a collection that is inclusive and representative of all members of the community.

She expects similar requests could soon be happening at her library.

"I mean the news coming out of southeast Manitoba makes, I think, every librarian a little nervous in Manitoba," Martin said.

The upcoming Manitoba Libraries Conference will include book ban requests as a topic. Martin plans to attend to be prepared for requests like this and ensure library policies are up to date.

"It's certainly something that we've made sure of and looked over our collections policy to make sure that we're prepared in case anything comes up."