3 Quebec school boards say they're ready to teach new sex-ed program

Three Montreal-area school boards say they're ready to teach Quebec's new sex-ed curriculum this school year, but some teachers' unions have expressed concerns about whether educatorshave received enough training to do it.

The Commission scolaire de Laval (CSDL), theCommission scolaire de Montral (CSDM) and the Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'le (CSP), which represents schools in Montreal's north and eastern boroughs, say they intend to implement the new program this school year.

That would fulfil a promise made by Philippe Couillard'sLiberal government last year.

• Quebec educators resist being rushed into teaching sex ed

"It can worry some parents, but we want to remind people that these are the values being transmitted to the children:the notion of consent, respect and self-esteem," saidCSDMPresident CatherineHarel-Bourdon.

The CSDM, Montreal's largest French-language school board, said it's partnering with the Lester B. Pearson School Board to provide teachers with the materials they need to bring the sex-edcurriculum to their schools.

A series of a dozen interactive videos are among those tools, the school boards said today, at a jointnews conference at cole Jules-Verne, a high school in Montreal North that hosted a three-yearpilot project to implement the curriculum.

The videos about 20 minutes eachwill helpteachers and parents better understand the curriculum, they said.

At schools belonging to theCSPand theCSDL, the videoswill be available in English, Arabic, Armenian, Spanish and Haitian Creole, in addition to French.

The CSDLsaid it has worked with the health and social services agency (CISSS) in Laval and the FondationMarie-Vincent, which helps child sexual abuse victims, to share their expertise.

The CSPalso said it plans to hold 41 information sessions for educators throughout the school year.

Not enough training, unions say

Quebec schools have been without a structured, sex-ed curriculum for more than a decade.

But last year, Education MinisterSbastien Proulxannouncedthat a new program would be readyby this September.

Teachers' unions have complained since that announcement, however, sayingthe government hasn't allocated enough money to properly train the teachers.

Instead of having a nurse, social worker or other specialist come into schools to teach thesex-edclasses, teachers of all disciplines are expected to share the program's content with their students.

"The ministry has a tendency to implement policies and programs, and then there's no money attached," said Heidi Yetman, the president of the Pearson Teachers Union, which represents teachers at the Lester B. Pearson School Board.

Yetman told CBC News two training sessions were held for a select number of teachers at Lester B. Pearson schools over the summer.

Age-appropriate curriculum

On Tuesday, the school boards said they benefited greatly from the pilot project at Jules-Verne.

Among the lessons learned, the school said it was important to present the curriculum to parents first, providesupport to teachers who may feel awkward about having to teach sex ed, and create a committee charged with making sure the project runs smoothly.

The boards also said they want to reassure parents that the curriculumis age appropriate.

• Quebec children to get sex ed starting in kindergarten. What will they learn?

It will include topics such as:

• The notion of consent and how to recognize a situation of sexual assault.
• First romantic relationships.
• Teen sexual behaviour.
• The myths and prejudices surrounding sexual assault.
• Sexual and reproductive health.
• The importance of using contraception.

With files from CBC's Simon Nakonechny