School principals from across Waterloo Region gathered this week for a lesson in inclusivity.

In addition to learning the ins and outs of the Waterloo Region District School Board’s procedure supporting transgender students – one of the first in Ontario – they heard from Leon Tsai, a transgender student at Kitchener’s Eastwood Collegiate Institute.

Tsai, 17, told the group about the “struggles and difficulties” she has faced as a transgender student, and that she still does not feel she is “seen as a woman” when at school.

In addition to her own experiences, she said, she has heard from other LGBTQ students who have struggled with bullying or a lack of resources to help them at school.

The new procedure, she said, will hopefully make a difference on those fronts.

“I think with this step, it’s making a lot of trans students more safe and comfortable,” she said in an interview.

The school board’s administrative procedure for supporting students who identify as transgender notes that trans students “have the right to be who they are in an inclusive environment without fear of unwanted consequences.”

To that end, the procedure specifies that students should be able to move through the system as part of their preferred gender identity. Some specific measures laid out including how students are addressed by school employees, which facilities they use and which sports and physical education activities they take part in.

“It’s their right to be supported and accommodated, just like it’s everyone’s right,” said Deepa Ahluwalia, the board’s equity and inclusion officer.

“We need to ensure that each and every student feels safe, cared for and included.”

With reporting by Tyler Calver