Skipping Stone & Egale Canada

File Constitutional Challenge

Against Bill 27 (Education Amendment Act)

September 2, 2025

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     For Two-Spirit, trans and gender diverse students in Alberta, today marks not only the first day of school, but also the beginning of a critical legal fight for their fundamental rights.
     We are contesting the legislation’s restrictions on the use of names & pronouns in schools on the basis it violates the rights, safety, and dignity of students.
New amendments to the Education Act which took effect yesterday are related to (among other areas); 

• parental notification and consent for students (under 16) to use preferred pronouns/names, and notification for ages 16–17; 

• parental notification and opt-in consent for subject matter dealing primarily and explicitly with gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality; and 

• minister approval of learning and teaching resources and external parties who present learning and teaching resources that deal mainly and openly with gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality. 

     While all of these areas pose significant issues to the rights, safety, and inclusion of 2SLGBTQI young people in Alberta classrooms, Egale and Skipping Stone's current constitutional challenge will focus on the use of names and pronouns.   
     Schools should be a place where youth are provided the support, affirmation and encouragement to grow into the best versions of themselves. This regressive policy is nothing more than the most recent attack by the Alberta government to deprive Two-Spirit, trans and gender diverse youth of exactly those opportunities to thrive.

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-- This cannot be allowed to stand --

 

Support our work through the Alberta Trans Legal Fund here.

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Lindsay Peace & Amelia Newbert / Founders, Skipping Stone Foundation

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Don’t bank on the courts to save trans Albertans

Legal challenges are important, but they don’t get to the root of anti-trans legislation

By Charlotte Sheasby • September 17, 2025

​"The Calgary-based foundation Skipping Stone, which offers programming like ID-change clinics and mental health support groups to the city’s trans and gender-diverse residents, has helped lead the way to court.

     Together with Egale Canada, Skipping Stone secured a temporary injunction in June against the province’s healthcare legislation. And this month, the organizations announced they are planning to take the province to court again to challenge the constitutionality of the new educational rules, which came into effect Sept. 1."

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Challenging 'Parental Rights':

A Primer for Parents, Students,

Educators, and Advocates

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By Heather Ganshorn. Parkland Institute, University of Alberta, Sept 2025.

​​Click for:  Website.  Media Release.  Download report/PDF.​​

In addition to its analysis, the report outlines several strategies that

parents, students, and public education advocates can use to critically

engage with trustee elections — from identifying dog-whistle language

in candidate platforms to asking pointed questions

about funding, inclusion, and the role of public schools." 

- Press release excerpt

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     “There is a real risk that school boards could be captured by candidates who oppose inclusion and seek to further privatize education,” says Ganshorn. “This report is a tool for those who want to push back."

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    "Alberta’s education system is at the centre of a growing political and ideological struggle, in which the concept of 'parental rights' is being deployed to justify legislative changes that restrict inclusive practices, particularly around gender identity, sexuality, and public health. These developments mirror a wider North American trend that seeks to move education policy in a more socially conservative direction. 

     These policy changes disproportionately harm marginalized students while advancing a broader agenda of privatization. Recent legislation in Alberta reflects this shift, requiring parental opt-in for instruction on gender and sexuality, limiting local authority in public health matters, and curtailing access to gender-affirming care for transgender children and youth. These measures are framed as protecting parental authority but often override children’s rights and ignore the perspectives of supportive parents, particularly those in LGBTQ+ families.       Closely linked to these trends is the expansion of privatization in Alberta’s education system. Through extensive public funding of private schools, growth in charter schools, and subsidies for homeschooling, Alberta has redefined parental choice as the right to redirect public funds toward private education providers. This shift undermines the principle of education as a public good and contributes to increased inequality and diminished accountability.  

     Conservative advocacy groups and politically motivated organizations have exploited cultural tensions to promote privatization and reshape public education governance. As the province approaches trustee elections in the fall of 2025, public education supporters must critically evaluate candidates and policies to safeguard an inclusive, equitable, and truly public education system for all students."  ​

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For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Rita Espeschit, Research Communications Specialist, Parkland Institute

Email: rbraga@ualberta.ca

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     Heather Ganshorn is the research director at Support Our Students Alberta, a grassroots organization that advocates for inclusive and equitable public education for all Albertans. She is also a librarian at the University of Calgary and the parent of two children who attend public schools.

     Parkland Institute is an Alberta-wide, non-partisan research centre situated within the Faculty of Arts at the University of Alberta. The Institute studies economic, social, cultural, and political issues facing Albertans and Canadians, using the perspective of political economy. The Institute shares the results of its research widely and promotes discussion of the issues its research raises.​

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