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“I don’t have a problem with these students feeling included and accepted, but I think the comfort level has to exist for all of the students, at least within reasonable parameters.”

McAskile acknowledged teens making one another feel uncomfortable in change rooms is not a problem limited to transgender students.

Eggen said Thursday dissolving a school board is an “extreme” step he wouldn’t take if a school board fails to submit a policy on time.

Although Eggen hasn’t seen Fort Vermilion’s policies, he’s willing to work with what they’ve got to ensure it aligns with provincial law.

“I want to make sure that the interactions we have are cordial and affable. We’re not trying to set up fights over this,” he said.

The new changes to The School Act and supporting guidelines have also caused plenty of friction on Alberta’s Catholic boards of education.

Fort Vermilion is far from the only public school board torn between anxious parents and government directives. Trustees on the Buffalo Trail Public School Board in eastern Alberta are fielding emails and calls from parents worried about washroom rules.

Buffalo Trail board chairman Darcy Eddleston said some parents also say they have a right to know if their child joins a gay-straight alliance or divulges their sexual orientation to a staff member.

“Students are probably better at handling this than the parents are,” said Eddleston, a father of four.

Although a school board committee is developing new policies, trustees see the guidelines as suggestions, not gospel. Their priority is to ensure policies comply with the law, Eddleston said.

Northwest of Edmonton, Pembina Hills public school trustees are also grappling with the guidelines.

A January letter from board chairwoman Jennifer Tuininga to the education minister said parents have “grave misgivings” about issues like washroom access and the makeup of sports teams.

“Parents are telling us they are concerned with schools keeping information about their child from them,” Tuininga wrote.

Pembina school division staff are working on a new draft policy, she said.

jfrench@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/jantafrench