Saskatchewan鈥檚 two largest school divisions say they鈥檝e addressed concerns from teachers and are enforcing the province鈥檚 pronoun law as children head back to classrooms next week.

Jason Coleman, superintendent of student achievement at Regina Public Schools, says students under 16 who want to change their names or pronouns in school are required to have parental consent. Those older can do so without.

Some parents have said no, said Coleman. When that happens, the division works with students on getting them to a place where they can communicate with their families.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had to do it before the (legislation) and after,鈥� Coleman said.

鈥淐ompliance looks like we鈥檙e being respectful of our students and being respectful of our parents within the legislation that exists. Even before the legislation, we strove, we worked towards and we tried to include parents in all things that we did.鈥�

Coleman declined to say how teachers are disciplined if they don鈥檛 follow the law.

A spokesperson for Saskatoon Public Schools said in an email that all employees are expected to follow the legislation and its enforcement is no different than with other policies.

鈥淚t has always been our process to encourage students of any age to involve their parents or guardians in discussions about name changes and pronoun changes,鈥� the statement said.

It said the division has let students know it can鈥檛 always guarantee privacy if different names are used by teachers and peers.

鈥淪tudents not ready to share this information with their family generally decided to wait until they were ready to do so.鈥�

Premier Scott Moe鈥檚 Saskatchewan Party government said it introduced the requirement as a rule in August 2023 to make sure parents are included in their children鈥檚 lives.

A court challenge later caused Moe to recall the legislature to make the rule a law. The legislation invoked the notwithstanding clause, a measure that allows governments to override certain Charter rights for up to five years.

A judge ruled the challenge could continue. The province then sought an appeal, which is to be heard in September.

Moe hasn鈥檛 offered details on how teachers would be punished if they don鈥檛 abide by the law. He has left it up to school divisions to make sure it鈥檚 followed.

In November, dozens of teachers signed an online petition saying they won鈥檛 follow the law, arguing it harms gender-diverse students by forcing them to come out or by having teachers misgender them.

Regina teacher Alex Schmidt, who was among the signatories, said educators were confronted with different kinds of fears.

Some worried they wouldn鈥檛 be properly caring for students if they didn鈥檛 use preferred names or pronouns. Other teachers were concerned about getting fired if they didn鈥檛 follow the law.

There were more questions: Would the law be used to create conflict between teachers and parents? Would students ask for pronoun or name changes as a way to act out and play a prank?

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 necessarily going on in my spaces, but it was scary for teachers, going one way or the other, whether it was important to the student, or whether it would turn into a joke,鈥� Schmidt said.

鈥淏ut from what I had heard, it wasn鈥檛 happening a ton. And the students it was happening with, it was very real and it was a process that, in some cases, scared the teacher to have to be in that position.鈥�

Schmidt, who went on maternity leave in March and plans to return later this school year, said it was her understanding Regina Public Schools would handle non-compliance on a case-by-case basis.

Teachers were either going to follow the rule or not, she said. Others didn鈥檛 know what they were going to do until faced with the situation.

鈥淭here was a lot of fear related to job security and also a lot of fear related to not being someone who鈥檚 caring for the kids,鈥� she said.

Schmidt said she hasn鈥檛 had a student ask for a name or pronoun change. However, she鈥檚 still prepared to call a child by their chosen name or pronoun without parental consent should that happen.

鈥淢y job is to respect the human rights of the child, and that is every person鈥檚 job,鈥� she said.

鈥淲hen I think about that, I鈥檓 doing my job 鈥� even if Scott Moe says I鈥檓 not 鈥� by respecting the child鈥檚 wishes, the child鈥檚 comfort and the child鈥檚 needs.鈥�

New Brunswick鈥檚 Progressive Conservative government has also enforced a pronoun rule that requires parents鈥� consent for pronoun or name changes for students under 16.

In Alberta, United Conservative Premier Danielle Smith said she plans to introduce legislation this fall that would require parental consent for students under 16 looking to change their names or pronouns.

Smith said she鈥檚 also prepared to use legislation to restrict transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming health care, banning transgender participation in female sports and requiring parental consent or notification for sex education.

School divisions in Edmonton and Calgary said they aren鈥檛 clear what the province will implement and when those changes could arrive.