TORONTO

Come Tuesday, three of Khalid Mahmood’s five children won’t take their seats in school.

Mahmood says he’s one of hundreds of parents who plan to protest the new sex-ed curriculum by keeping their children home from school for the month of September.

“We are not sending our children until and unless the parents are to be consulted before teaching them anything which is against the beliefs and against science,” Mahmood said.

An organizer with the Thorncliffe Parents Association, Mahmood said he believes the new curriculum could lead to increased sexual activity among children and mental health issues.

“We have told the premier that we will not be sending back our children unless and until we are assured that a real opt-out is there,” he said.

This summer has seen protests at Queen’s Park and, more recently, outside the offices of Ontario MPPs. Toting signs that read, “Let kids be kids” and “Where are MY human rights,” parents even brought their children to protests.

Ontario’s curriculum was last updated in 1998. The province withdrew a version of an updated sex-ed curriculum in 2010, citing a lack of public consultation.

The new sex-ed curriculum was unveiled earlier this year. The province said around 4,000 parents across Ontario were given a chance to provide input. Education Minister Liz Sandals has called it a curriculum that reflects the “health, safety, and well-being realities faced by today’s students.”

But parents like Christina Liu say that’s still up for debate.

“I will keep my son at home until the provincial government, the premier’s office, gives us a response regarding our request for a public debate,” Liu said.

The 41-year-old parent from North York says her concerns are based on science, not religion or culture.

She feels like her voice isn’t being heard.

“We have been all painted as immigrants, as if we are not merging into Canadian culture, Canadian values, as if we are religious bigots,” Liu said.

The pushback against the new curriculum appears to have united people from a variety of backgrounds, says Jack Fonseca of Campaign Life Coalition, the organization behind last week’s protests at MPP offices.

He, too, says “potentially thousands” of Ontario families plan to keep their kids home from school “until such time as the curriculum is withdrawn.”

Lauren Bialystok, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, says in a pluralistic society, a clash of values is “expected.”

The curriculum “was going to be updated and yes, it was going to upset some people,” she said.

“You can’t please everybody, but it was necessary.”

She has no issue with anyone’s right to protest, but says taking kids out of school isn’t productive.

“If parents want to add religious or moral education, they’re welcome to do that,” she said.

Different communities are motivated by different concerns, Bialystok added.

“Some may simply have questions about the process by which the curriculum was designed.”

Mahmood says like others, he doesn’t feel consulted.

On Labour Day afternoon, he expects to join hundreds of like-minded parents for a rally called Save the Children, near Thorncliffe Park Public School.

And the next day, when school officially kicks off?

“Our children will be sitting under the trees while they will be having their education in the open air,” Mahmood said.

“This is just to indicate that under the shelter of inclusiveness, we are really excluded people.”