A request from the Anglophone East District Education Council to have the province cover legal costs to challenge Policy 713 has been turned down.

Council members made the request back in November.

Superintendent Randy MacLEAN presented a letter at this week’s DEC meeting that said the province would not provide the funds.

A second motion was approved unanimously on Tuesday night asking the Superintendent to prepare now and dispense funds for the court challenge.

Under Policy 713, teachers are no longer allowed to use a trans or non-binary child under 16’s preferred name or pronoun, formally or informally, without parental consent.

Students have always required parental consent for their preferred first name and pronoun to be used for official records, however, there was nothing preventing a teacher from doing so informally.