The upcoming BC School board elections on October 17th have the power to affect the everyday lives of 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and educators across the province.
School boards have the power to set the tone for whether students feel safe, seen, and supported. Resources like SOGI123, an evidence-based anti-bullying program that supports educators to make schools inclusive and safe for students of all sexual orientations and gender identities, rely on trustees who will stand behind them.
But across BC, some candidates have been campaigning against inclusion in our schools — whether it be by targeting SOGI123 outright or by using dogwhistle rhetoric like “back to basics” and “parental rights”. If they win, BC youth are left vulnerable to hate and violence.
With support for inclusive policies on the line this election, we have to step up to protect queer and trans youth.
That’s why, for the past couple of weeks, we have been reaching out to school board trustee candidates across BC, asking them to sign an Inclusion & Safety Pledge and respond to our Commitments Survey. You can find out which candidates have taken the pledge and read their survey responses here.
Now we’re asking you to join us —- we need your help to contact the candidates running in your specific school district or ward who haven't committed yet.
Using our ready-to-send Email Template here, you can email your local school district’s candidates with one clear message: if you want to be a school trustee, you must protect every student.
👉 Here’s how how to take action today
1️⃣ Open our candidate tracker.
2️⃣ Find your local BC school board district or ward to see who hasn’t shown support for inclusion in schools.
3️⃣ Look up your local candidate's public campaign email.
4️⃣Copy our ready-to-send Email Template 🔗, and hit send!
The Candidate Pledge and Survey Tracker 🔗
Families, students, and community members deserve to make informed decisions about the values guiding their local school board. Check our LIVE candidates tracker here to see which candidates in your district have committed to keeping queer and trans children safe by taking the Inclusive Schools Inclusion and Safety Pledge and completing our commitments survey.
Share amongst your communities to make sure that you’re headed into the polls with the information you need to uphold a progressive school board in BC!