Education minister goes silent on Policy 713 dispute

New Brunswick's education minister has gone silent in the debate about Policy 713, choosing not to respond to the latest statement from a francophone district education council.

Bill Hogan did not speak to reporters Tuesday who wanted to question him about the statement from the Francophone South council, one of three francophone districts he suggested last week he might try to dissolve.

On Monday, Francophone South chair Michel Côté said the council was pleased with Hogan's comments last Friday in which the minister appeared to step back from the dissolution threat.

He said Hogan "appears to finally acknowledge" the district's commitment to Policy 713 via its own district policy, Policy 1.0, on implementing the provincial requirements.

Policy 713 requires that school staff obtain parental consent before letting a student under 16 adopt a new name or pronoun that reflects their gender identity.

The Francophone South implementation policy allows students as young as Grade 6 adopt a name or pronoun without parental involvement.

Hogan said in an April 22 letter to the districts that he was repealing the district-level policies and wanted them removed from the education councils' websites.

The districts refused, leading to his threat to dissolve them.

When he spoke to reporters last Friday, however, Hogan repeated that they should be removed — but also claimed he had learned a majority of francophone schools were adhering to Policy 713 itself.

If the three councils would "quit pretending" they were offside, everyone could move on, he said — an indication the showdown could be avoided. 

Côté's statement on Monday described Hogan's comments last week as a path toward compromise.

"Mr. Hogan's latest remarks suggest that he now understands our long-standing and continuing objective to collaborate closely with parents in the best interests of our students," he said in the written statement issued by email.

"We genuinely hope to put an end to the months-long battle with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development centred on one fundamental, non-negotiable principle: the protection of our students' constitutional rights."

There is no mention in Côté's statement of what Hogan said about removing the policies to reflect the reality in classrooms.

Côté's statement, in fact, says Policy 1.0 "remains active and continues to be enforced in our schools to ensure that every student can thrive in an environment that champions authenticity."

The statement doesn't mention the differences between the polices. 

A district spokesperson said Côté would not be doing media interviews to clarify the district's stance.

Hogan declined to comment through a spokesperson on Monday and did not speak to reporters at the legislature Tuesday. 

The minister has committed to launching a legal application to dissolve the Anglophone East education council over its refusal to back down on its district-level policy.

There's still no word on whether the provincial cabinet has issued the required order to launch the court action.