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Drawing on prior scholarship, it addresses how student activism enabled peer education and contributed to school cultural change. The study situates its focus within ongoing international discrimination in schools based on homophobia and transphobia, noting curriculum and policy silences despite growing awareness.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/students-as-policy-actors-the-tdsb-equity-foundation-statement-and-commitments-to-equity-policy/596535/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/students-as-policy-actors-the-tdsb-equity-foundation-statement-and-commitments-to-equity-policy/596535.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Alexandar","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What does the TDSB Equity Foundation Statement and Commitments to Equity Policy (EFS) mandate?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The EFS provides an explicit mandate for schools to address discrimination based on homophobia/transphobia and to educate about sexual and gendered diversity within the TDSB jurisdiction.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the paper describe the role of students in LGBTQ equity work?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Students are portrayed as agentic policy actors who, through activism, supported peer education and helped enact LGBTQ equity work that led to cultural change in the schools.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What kinds of discrimination do LGBTQ students face in schools according to the literature reviewed?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The literature reports bullying, harassment, verbal and physical violence, cyber abuse, and sexual harassment, often reinforced by LGBTQ silences or omissions in curriculum and policy.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},596535,1792171715,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":26},962090768658,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","STUDENTS AS POLICY ACTORS:  \nTHE TDSB EQUITY FOUNDATION STATEMENT  \nAND COMMITMENTS TO EQUITY POLICY  \nTania Ferfolja, University of Western Sydney  \nDiscrimination on the basis of homophobia/transphobia in many schools is an internationally recognised problem. The Toronto District School Board’s  \n(TDSB) Equity Foundation Statement and Commitments to Equity Policy  \n(EFS) provides an explicit mandate to schools in its jurisdiction to address  \nsuch discrimination and educate about sexual and gendered diversity. This  \nresearch, which draws on the work of Ball et al. (2012), examines how  \nlesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) equity work was being implemented in two TDSB high schools. In particular, it illustrates how some students were more than subjectively produced by policy, but were  \nagentic policy actors who were integral to the enactments of LGBTQ equity  \nwork undertaken in the schools.  \nIntroduction  \nDespite increasing awareness and acceptance of sexual diversity in many western, industrialized nations, discrimination in schools based on sexual or gender non-conformity remains a concern. The international literature illustrates that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals experience discrimination through a range of negative behaviours which serve to regulate and police sexual and gendered subjectivities. This discrimination is often compounded through LGBTQ silences and omissions in school curriculum and policy (Ferfolja, 2013; Bellini, 2012; Callaghan, 2007, 2009; Taylor, 2008; Taylor & Peter, 2011). Although addressing homo/transphobia in schools and educating about sexual and gendered diversities is crucial for the creation of teaching and learning spaces that are  \nsafe, socially-just, and equitable, few education systems proactively encourage through their curricula or policies visible and explicit measures that enhance knowledge about this area of (in)equity. Rarer is any active encouragement for schools to position LGBTQ subjects in affirmative and celebratory discourse.  \nThe Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is one of few exceptions. Its “Equity Foundation Statement and Commitments to Equity Policy Implementation”1 (hereafter EFS) marks the TDSB as a policy front-runner in terms of embracing the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, two-spirited, transsexual, and transgender equitable practices in schools, building relationships with these communities, and reducing discrimination against those who are gender and sexually diverse. Its educationally progressive approach renders its implementation in schools worthy of study. Thus, this paper stems from research that examined how antihomophobia education and education about sexually and gender diverse subjects was being addressed in two TDSB high schools. Although findings from the research acknowledge the clear commitment of the participating school administrators, teachers, and TDSB equity personnel in implementing the EFS in relation to sexual and gender diversity, of significant interest was how those with lesser institutional power, that is, the students were key policy actors who through their activism contributed to peer education and school cultural change.  \nLiterature Review  \nDiscrimination related to sexual or gender non-conformity is an ongoing problem in schools in many countries. International research demonstrates that LGBTQ individuals in schools (or those perceived to be) are frequently objects of bullying, harassment, verbal and  \n1 For more information on this policy’s development and history, see Bellini (2012); Goldstein et al (2008); MacCaskell (2005) .  \nphysical violence, cyber abuse, and sexual harassment (Danish Institute for Human Rights, 2009; Guasp, 2012; Hillier, Jones, Monagle, Overton, Gahan, Blackman, & Mitchell, 2010; Human Rights Watch, 2001; Hunt & Jensen, 2007; Kosciw, Greytak, Bartkiewicz, Boesen, & Palmer, 2012; Schneider & Dimito, 2008; Takács, 2006; Takács, Mocsonaki, & T","cbCaidZBimzr4oub","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaidZBimzr4oub","pdf",297850,24,"English","# Introduction\n# Literature Review","[{\"question\":\"What does the TDSB Equity Foundation Statement and Commitments to Equity Policy (EFS) mandate?\",\"answer\":\"The EFS provides an explicit mandate for schools to address discrimination based on homophobia/transphobia and to educate about sexual and gendered diversity within the TDSB jurisdiction.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the paper describe the role of students in LGBTQ equity work?\",\"answer\":\"Students are portrayed as agentic policy actors who, through activism, supported peer education and helped enact LGBTQ equity work that led to cultural change in the schools.\"},{\"question\":\"What kinds of discrimination do LGBTQ students face in schools according to the literature reviewed?\",\"answer\":\"The literature reports bullying, harassment, verbal and physical violence, cyber abuse, and sexual harassment, often reinforced by LGBTQ silences or omissions in curriculum and policy.\"}]","STUDENTS AS POLICY ACTORS - THE TDSB EQUITY FOUNDATION STATEMENT AND COMMITMENTS TO EQUITY POLICY | PDF",1792083256]