Updated September 2026
What is happening in Durham schools
A factual overview of current DDSB and DCDSB approaches, with links to the documents those practices rest on.
Curriculum — Human Development & Sexual Health
Ontario’s Health and Physical Education curriculum includes specific expectations on human development, sexual health, and relationships. PPM 162 gives parents the right to exempt their child from the Human Development and Sexual Health expectations in Grades 1–8 only, with written notice and ≥20 school days’ advance notice from the board.
Broader identity topics can also appear in other subjects, assemblies, or equity initiatives that fall outside the narrow scope of PPM 162.
HPE Grades 1–8 PDF (2019) · Digital HPE 1–8 · HPE Grades 9–12 PDF (2015) · PPM 162
Preferred names and pronouns
DDSB’s student human-rights information sheet states that a student has a right to choose a name and pronouns, to have those used at school and on school documents, and to have “information about my gender identity and gender expression kept confidential and not telling anyone else without my consent.” That is a board policy choice under its Human Rights framework. There is no provincial statute that requires schools to withhold this information from parents.
Parents who want notification, or who want legal names used in formal records, should put the request in writing. See the templates.
DDSB student rights information sheet (PDF) · DDSB Human Rights policy page · Supporting Trans Students in Our Schools (PDF)
GSAs, Pride events, and identity clubs
Gender-Sexuality Alliances and related clubs are supported under board equity and inclusion frameworks. Participation is generally voluntary, but activities and messaging can extend beyond clubs into announcements, professional learning, and school-wide events.
Library resources
Collection policies guided by equity frameworks often prioritize materials that affirm diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Parents have reported age-inappropriate content available without clear advance notice. Formal review processes exist — use the library letter.
Equity frameworks and professional learning
DDSB and DCDSB human-rights policies emphasize inclusion of 2SLGBTQIA+ identities. Board materials describe work to challenge cisnormative and binary gender assumptions in program offerings and student information systems.
What parents are challenging
- Lack of timely parental notification about curriculum and identity-related activities
- Social transition / preferred-name changes without parental knowledge
- Age-appropriateness of library and classroom materials
- Unequal institutional promotion of some identities over others
- Limited practical ability to opt out of content that falls outside the narrow PPM 162 exemption