School Board to Survey Students’ Sexual Orientation

A Canadian school district plans to ask students and their families about their sexual orientation as part of census to be conducted this month.

According to the Ottawa Citizen, the Ottawa-Carleton district school board says the survey aims to better serve diverse student populations with questions about home life, religious affiliation, and sexual orientation. Parents of students in junior kindergarten through the sixth grade will complete the survey, and students in grades 7 through 12 will be asked to complete their own survey.

"Barrie Hammond, the board's director of education, said the results will help the board make better decisions about programs, services and resource allocation," reports the Citizen.

The survey for older students asks about gender, including the option of transgender, and sexual orientation.

"Students are asked to identify their sexual orientation from a range of possible options, one of which is 'prefer not to disclose,'" according to the Citizen.

Survey results are confidential, but they are not anonymous. The surveys will use a unique number that will be stored in a separate location from the students' names to protect confidentiality.