Image: Himat Grewal/Fraser Valley Today / Chilliwack School District Superintendent Rohan Arul-pragasam (5th from the left, as shown at a meeting last year) confirmed in an email this week that SD33 allows questionnaires and/or surveys to be distributed in classrooms that inquire about students' gender identity.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

SD33 student questionnaire

SD33 confirms it allows questionnaires to be distributed that ask students about their pronouns

Sep 13, 2023 | 1:29 PM

CHILLIWACK — Chilliwack School District Superintendent Rohan Arul-pragasam confirmed in an email this week that SD33 allows questionnaires and/or surveys to be distributed in classrooms that inquire about students’ pronouns.

A Chilliwack family had contacted Fraser Valley Today to express concern about a questionnaire that had been given to their student at a school in Chilliwack. The family indicated they weren’t sure what direct relevance it had in relation to mathematics, language arts, science, English, social studies and other subjects.

In response to an inquiry from Fraser Valley Today, Arul-pragasam confirmed that questionnaires are typically given to SD33 students and are common practice.

“Surveys are a common way for a classroom teacher to get to know their students, and the attached survey is no different, all while upholding the principles of the B.C. Human Rights Code,” Arul-pragasam said.

The questionnaire as provided to Fraser Valley Today asks students for their legal name, their preferred name, suggested pronouns like he/him, she/her or they/them, and whether their preferred name can be shared with others in class, with other teachers, or in emails sent to home parents and guardians.

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Image: Submitted / A questionnaire that was given to a student at a school in Chilliwack in the past week; the questionnaire asks students about what pronouns they use.

The Chilliwack family expressed concern that parents would not see the survey before students returned it to their respective teachers, and believed parents should know about questionnaires given to students.

It’s unclear whether the questionnaires are mandatory or optional for students.

The questionnaire that was distributed at a school in Chilliwack doesn’t stop there. It asks students about their favourite bands and musical artists, their favourite things to do when they aren’t at school, favourite foods, least favourite foods, favourite movies and TV shows, if they have pets and if yes, what kinds of pets, along with their favourite season, favourite colour, what is one thing that students learned in English and social studies the year prior, and what students hope to learn in English and social studies during the current school year.