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Dianne Oberg
Dianne Oberg is the chair of the Department of Elementary Education, U of A, and a member of the ATA's Diversity, Equity and Human Rights Committee.
The Supreme Court of Canada announced its decision on the case of Chamberlain v Surrey School District No. 36 on December 20, 2002. The Court found that the Surrey School Board's decision not to approve three children's books depicting families with same-sex parents was unreasonable. The Supreme Court ordered the Surrey School Board to reconsider its action according to the criteria laid out in the board's own regulation for the selection of learning materials, as well as the guidelines of the B.C. curriculum and the broad principles of tolerance and non-sectarianism underlying the B.C. School Act.
The case began in 1997 when Kindergarten teacher James Chamberlain asked the Surrey School Board to approve three children's books for use at the Kindergarten to Grade 1 level as supplementary materials for the Personal Planning/Family Life Education curriculum. This B.C. curriculum, like the Alberta Grade 1 social studies curriculum, requires that children learn about different kinds of families. In the B.C. curriculum document, teachers are encouraged to use instructional strategies such as having children compare different families and discuss similarities and differences, draw and write about their own families and talk about each other's families.
Parents from Chamberlain's classroom had read the three books, which feature children who have two mothers or two fathers—Asha's Mums (1990) by R. Elwin and M. Paulse, Belinda's Bouquet (1991) by L. Newman, and One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dads, Blue Dads (1994) by J. Valentine. Seventeen of 20 families from Chamberlain's classroom signed a petition, which they presented to the school board, asking for the books to be approved. The Surrey School Board refused to allow the books to be used anywhere in the district because some parents stated that their religious beliefs would be offended by acknowledging in the classroom that there are children who have same-sex parents.
The Supreme Court ruling means that parental involvement in schools cannot come at the expense of tolerance and respect for diversity. The School Act in Alberta, like the School Act in B.C., requires that school boards and teachers promote tolerance and respect for diversity. Section 3(1) of the School Act states: "All education programs offered and instructional materials used in schools must reflect the diverse nature and heritage of society in Alberta, promote understanding and respect for others and honour and respect the common values and beliefs of Albertans."
The Supreme Court's decision sends a clear message to ministries of education, school boards and educators across Canada that they must adhere to the principles and values of a publicly funded education system by respecting and serving the needs of all within it. The decision recognizes the right of all children to have their realities, including the realities of their families, reflected and respected in their schools and in the curriculum.
The full text of the Chamberlain v Surrey School Board No. 36 decision be accessed at http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/rec/html/chamberl.en.html 
What the chief justice said
In her written remarks, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, an Albertan, said that "tolerance is always age-appropriate." She dismissed the view that children would be confused by classroom information about same-sex parents. "Children cannot learn [tolerance] unless they are exposed to views that differ from those they are taught at home."
