SOGI-inclusive policies and procedures save lives.

Effective policies and procedures that explicitly reference SOGI have been proven to reduce discrimination, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts for all students.* What is your division policy? Read on to learn how to create or improve policies and procedures for your division.

Twelve best practices for effective SOGI-Inclusive Policies and Procedures

This list was compiled by Alberta Education and can be found in the Alberta Education, Guidelines for Best Practices: Creating Learning Environments that Respect Diverse Sexual Orientations, Gender Identities and Gender Expressions.

1. INDIVIDUAL SUPPORTS
Provide supports that respond to a student’s individual needs. Supports that work for one student may not work for another.

2. RESPECTING AN INDIVIDUAL'S RIGHT TO SELF-IDENTIFICATION
All individuals have the right to be addressed by their chosen name and to choose pronouns that align with their gender identity and/or gender expression.

3. PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
Maintain school records in a way that respects privacy and confidentiality.

4. DRESS CODES
Ensure that dress codes respect an individual’s gender identity and gender expression.

5. MINIMIZE GENDER-SEGREGATED ACTIVITIES
Reduce gender-segregated activities to the greatest extent possible. This increases opportunities to respect students’ full expression of who they are and allows them to play, learn, dress, present and express themselves in flexible and diverse ways that are congruent with their gender identity or gender expression.

6. EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Enable students with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions to have full, safe and equitable participation in curricular and extra-curricular activities.

7. SAFE ACCESS TO WASHROOM AND CHANGE-ROOM FACILITIES
Students with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions have a right to accommodation when it comes to the use of washroom and change-room facilities that are congruent with their gender identity. 

8. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
Providing professional learning opportunities that build the capacity of staff to understand and support diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.

9. WHOLE-SCHOOL APPROACH
Use a comprehensive whole-school approach to promote healthy relationships and prevent and respond to bullying behaviour.

10. RESPECT AND BELONGING
Ensure students have the understanding, skills and opportunities to contribute to welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environments that respect diversity and nurture a sense of belonging and a positive sense of self.

11. SUPPORT FAMILIES
Ensure all families are welcomed and supported as valued members of the school community.

12. STAFF WORK ENVIRONMENTS
Ensure that school staff have work environments where they are protected from discrimination based on their sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions. 

Download the Alberta Education, Guidelines for Best Practices: Creating Learning Environments that Respect Diverse Sexual Orientations, Gender Identities and Gender Expressions for full details.

What Others Are Doing

Here is one example of an Alberta School Division policy and administrative regulation:

Edmonton Public’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Policy was most recently updated and reviewed in 2020. The policy is accompanied by enhanced SOGI Administrative Regulations.

Start the Conversation

Download the SOGI Scenarios for Teacher/Administrator Practice to find discussion points for exploring the implementation of SOGI policies and procedures in your school.