School board tells teachers to follow “no debate” script when dealing with parents
The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board is instructing teachers to shut down parental concerns about ideology and identity politics in the classroom.
Author: Melanie Bennet
The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board is instructing teachers to shut down parental concerns about ideology and identity politics in the classroom, forcing staff to repeat a scripted, “no debate” response to questions about curriculum, displays, and student groups.
The document, described as an “identity-affirming” quick response guide, outlines a scripted process teachers should follow when parents raise concerns about their children’s school exposure.
The board’s guide covers topics such as “identity-affirming curriculum and teaching practices,” “visual displays,” “student affinity groups,” and broader “equity commitments.”
Teachers are directed to deliver what the board calls a “grounded response.”
Staff are told to inform parents that the school is “creating learning environments that are safe, inclusive, and aligned without human rights obligation,” and to end the conversation there “unless more is required.”
“Do not debate, persuade, or defend,” it says. Parents may ask questions, but teachers are instructed not to answer them. At no stage does the guide suggest directly addressing the parent’s concern.
Instead, the document outlines a step-by-step process designed to repeat the same scripted response until the parent gives up or is escalated to administration.
If a parent continues seeking clarification, teachers are instructed to repeat the same “grounded response” up to three times before referring the parent to the principal.
If a parent is described as “curious or respectful,” teachers are instructed to “restate” their “grounded response” and engage in “no debate.”
If a parent is persistent but calm, the instructions are identical.
Teachers should again “restate” the “grounded response,” again with “no debate.” Only one clarification is permitted.
Even then, teachers are told to “choose one” clarifier “only if needed” and then immediately “return to [their] grounded response.”
If a parent asks whether their child can opt out of identity-based lessons, the guide instructs teachers to respond:
“There is no opt-out of people’s identities. Inclusive education is embedded in Ontario curriculum expectations.”
Families may only opt out “where permitted,” the guide states, adding that human rights are “not optional.”
Another example addresses concerns about biological males accessing female private spaces. Teachers are advised to respond that “one human right cannot override another,” and that no student’s beliefs “supersede” another student’s rights.
The guide concludes with several pages of legal justification arguing that parents have no authority to determine what their children are exposed to in public schools.
The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board has repeatedly drawn controversy for its approach to identity-based education.
Recordings previously leaked to Juno News captured a Grade 11 English teacher using class time to lecture students on Black Lives Matter, systemic oppression, and social justice activism instead of the standard curriculum.
In another investigation, Juno News revealed that the board’s “Learn. Disrupt. Rebuild“ program, developed by equity consultant Nicole West-Burns, had expanded to 33 schools across the district.
Training materials obtained through freedom of information requests also showed teachers being trained to incorporate social justice frameworks into subjects such as art and social science.
Meanwhile, the board is currently refusing to disclose teacher training on “anti-Palestinian racism” that cost taxpayers more than $70,000.
The board has argued that releasing the training video could pose a “danger to safety or health,” a decision that is now under appeal before Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner.
Despite repeated requests over the past year, the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board has not responded to questions from Juno News regarding these programs.
Juno News contacted the board for comment on the new response guide, but the board did not respond.