Parents can remove their kids from sex-ed classes for religious reasons, but any requests for students to opt-out of learning about gay families or diverse gender identities won’t be tolerated, says the director of Ontario’s second largest school board — one that expects to be hard hit by protests over the new health curriculum.

The same day as anti-sex-ed rallies were planned outside Liberal MPP offices across the province, Tony Pontes was to tell teachers and superintendents about the Peel board’s tough stand, saying if parents have a problem with such strong support for equity and inclusion, the public system may not be right for them.

“Let’s be clear: Some in our community may not like this,” he says in a speech to be given Wednesday morning, a copy of which was provided to the Star.

After noting the 905-area board is opening its first gender-neutral washroom at a high school as well as introducing a new gender identity guideline for educators, some parents “may choose to switch school systems … if so, that is a price we must be willing to pay.

“We cannot — we will not — by action or inaction endorse discrimination,” said Pontes, who cited Ontario’s Human Rights Code as applying to people of all sexual orientation and gender identity. “Supported by legal opinion, bolstered by our core values, I would no more say yes to someone wanting a child excluded because of a discussion about LGBTQ than I would a discussion about race or gender.”

He said that while some parents do have “genuine concerns” that the board will work to address, critics of the updated sex-ed curriculum have used it to “raise fear, generate untruths and build constituencies of protest based on false information. I find that unconscionable.”

Since the new curriculum was announced, opponents, made up mainly of different faith groups, have tried to derail it, labelling it age-inappropriate, radical and even immoral — arguing parents should be the ones providing such information, and at a time when they feel their children are ready.

Thousands have taken part in several protests, and kept their children home from school for a week last May. Some even refused to allow their kids to participate in the anti-bullying “Day of Pink,” believing it promoted homosexuality.

On Wednesday, protesters were to target MPP offices around the province demanding that the curriculum be dropped. As well, a Sept. 2 letter sent by the Canadian Families Alliance to the Ministry of Education outlines several concerns and asks for a public debate on the issue, saying now is the time to “amend and enhance the curriculum before it is fully implemented across the province.”

The government, meanwhile, has stepped up its promotion of the new curriculum, with YouTube videos airing on television over the next month, as the school year starts up.

Some anonymous materials, distributed to families by groups unknown, have incorrectly said sex education offers how-to classes on masturbation and homosexuality; parents have also objected to teaching masturbation as “healthy,” or their children learning about oral or anal sex — none of which is actually a mandatory part of the curriculum, though it could be discussed.

The health curriculum had last been updated in 1998. Until now, Ontario has been teaching students with the most outdated information of any province in the country. The updated version was first introduced in 2010, but then abandoned by former premier Dalton McGuinty because of the outcry from a vocal minority.

Parents are free to keep their children home from school at any time, but because equity is woven into all subject areas and may also spontaneously arise during classroom discussion, it is near-impossible for kids to avoid it.

“So, some parents may ask, ‘Don’t you respect my values?’” Pontes also said. “Yes — but that does not mean we will de facto endorse those values by providing an in-school accommodation.”

Let’s talk about sex: Details of Ontario’s new health curriculum

Grade 1: Students learn about body parts and genitalia, with possible examples: penis, testicles, vagina, vulva. Could be as simple as “boys have penises and girls have vaginas,” or more detailed, depending on the resources teachers use.

Grade 2: Students will learn the basic states of human development including how their bodies change as they grow.

Grade 3: First mention of homosexuality, within the context of being respectful of differences. Teachers may talk about families that have two moms or two dads.

Grade 4: Kids learn about puberty and the body and emotional changes it brings, also personal hygiene. Topics also include online safety (including text messaging as well as warnings about sending sexy pictures).

Grade 5: Students learn about reproductive systems, menstruation and sperm production, as well as emotions and stress during puberty.

Grade 6: Healthy relationships and sexual consent are major issues covered. If a student asks about masturbation, a teacher could respond by saying: “Things like wet dreams or vaginal lubrication are normal and happen as a result of physical changes with puberty. Exploring one’s body by touching or masturbating is something that many people do and find pleasurable. It is common and is not harmful and is one way of learning about your body.”

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Grade 7: Students are warned about sexting, and learn about sexually transmitted diseases and discuss delaying sexual activity “until they are older (e.g., choosing to abstain from any genital contact; choosing to abstain from having vaginal or anal intercourse; choosing to abstain from having oral-genital contact); the reasons for not engaging in sexual activity; the concept of consent and how consent is communicated; and, in general, the need to communicate clearly with each other when making decisions about sexual activity in the relationship.” Birth control is also covered. Anal intercourse and oral sex may be discussed, but are not mandatory parts of the curriculum.

Source: Toronto Star files, Ministry of Education

What happened when in the sex-ed controversy

1998: Ontario introduces an updated health/sex-ed curriculum.

January 2010: Ministry of Education releases an updated and revamped version of the 1998 health/sex ed curriculum, to be in place in classrooms by the fall, including emerging issues such as cyberbullying, sexting and mental health.

April 2010: Concerns are raised by a small, vocal minority, as well as then-Conservative leader Tim Hudak, and within two days then-premier Dalton McGuinty sets the curriculum aside, calling for a “serious rethink” with more parental input.

February 2013: Newly sworn-in Kathleen Wynne promises to reintroduce the sex-ed curriculum during her first press conference as premier.

June 2013: Health and education experts urge the government to move ahead with plans to launch the curriculum, so that it can be in place by the fall.

October 2013: Ophea, a non-profit group that advises on health and physical education, begins a crowd-funding campaign to place newspaper ads alerting the public to the fact that Ontario has the most outdated sex ed and health curriculum in the country.

February 2015: The Ontario government reintroduces the new curriculum, to mixed reviews from parents, to be implemented in the fall.

March/April 2015: Opponents organize a number of anti-sex-ed protests, including one where thousands of families keep their children home from school for up to five days.

June 2014: Halton’s Catholic board calls police after a conflict over a motion seeking to delay teaching the new sex-ed curriculum failed. Toronto’s Catholic board introduces a similar motion that also fails. Protests continue.

August 2015: Ontario government posts a video on YouTube, which will also be aired on TV in September, to promote the new curriculum, saying “Our kids have questions … the sex-ed and health curriculum can help.”

Sources: Toronto Star files, Canadian Press