After months of outcry against an Oakville, Ontario, teacher’s controversial attire, the main solution the school board put forth—a professionalism policy—has been voted down.
The Halton District School Board (HDSB) started working on a professionalism policy for staff in January as Oakville Trafalgar High School teacher Kayla Lemieux, formerly Kerry Lemieux, gained international attention for wearing tight shirts over large breasts with protruding nipples—long assumed to be prosthetic, though Lemieux has claimed they are real and grown with hormone treatments.
Vice Chair Tanya Rocha said she voted against it because it draws together parts of pre-existing policies without providing any further clarity. Her reasoning was was echoed by other trustees.
“I think it’s been made abundantly clear that we do have the policies, procedures, and regulations in place that address all forms of professionalism. And when I looked at the draft policy that’s been presented, there’s really nothing new. It’s really just a summary of everything that exists, so it begs the question do we really need this?” Rocha said.
Chair Margo Shuttleworth said it would be better to focus on adding clarification to the existing policies.
“Rather than create a new document which might muddy the water, we need to ensure that the language is clear in the policies that we have to ensure that professionalism is at our schools,” she said.
Education Director Curtis Ennis said he agrees to strengthening existing policies. “That is something that I am committed to doing along with staff,” he said.
“This has gone on for nearly 10 months and the board has accomplished nothing,” said Students First Ontario in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times. Students First Ontario is a group formed by Oakville Trafalgar parents to bring attention to the situation and call for action.
“Here we are at the end of the school year—no further ahead than when we started.”
The group noted the cost and time dedicated to stakeholder surveys, policy requests, and proposals. “All have led nowhere.”
The board discussed at the June 21 meeting a survey of nearly 8,700 stakeholders regarding the draft professionalism policy. About 60 percent of the respondents were parents, and the rest mostly staff and students.
Respondents found the policy was “most effective” in ensuring every person is free from discrimination and harassment in the schools. But they said it was “least effective” in its stated purpose, in providing clarity of expectations regarding staff professionalism, including dress and decorum.
Respondents called for greater clarity and specificity on monitoring and implementing staff professionalism expectations.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce has criticized the school board for its handling of the situation.
“It’s unacceptable and an abdication of responsibility of the school board for not defending and upholding the interests of children,” he said at Queen’s Park on Feb. 21, according to the Toronto Star.
