MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

What is Students First Ontario? How parents' group came together to stop the Kayla Lemieux show

Transgender teacher Kayla Lemieux, who wore giant, prosthetic breasts in class, is on leave and no longer teaching at Oakville Trafalgar High School

TORONTO, CANADA: Kayla Lemieux, a transgender teacher who grabbed headlines for wearing giant, prosthetic breasts in class, is no longer teaching at Oakville Trafalgar High School. She was placed on leave after relentless protests by concerned parents, some of whom formed a pressure group called 'Students First Ontario' to lead the efforts in ousting the teacher from the school.

Lemieux was excoriated by parents, students, and activist groups after pictures emerged of the trans educator wearing large prosthetic breasts under form-fitting clothes. The teacher's removal came after The New York Post published photos of a man who resembled Lemieux and was accused of wearing "men’s sweatpants, trainers, a gray T-shirt, and a navy puffer vest without breasts, makeup, glasses or wig" outside of school premises.

ALSO READ

'God-tier troll': Internet claims all Kayla Lemieux wanted was to sit at home and get paid

‘This is a school, not a circus’: Students join protest against trans teacher with massive fake breasts

"While not currently on an active assignment, the teacher remains employed with the (Halton District School Board)," Oakville Trafalgar High School spokesperson Heather Francey told The Toronto Sun, which noted how the "board has supported Lemieux throughout." Francey's comments were one of the few official statements the school board put out in light of the controversy. Lemieux, however, has claimed to be suffering from gigantomastia, a rare condition in which one's breasts "become excessively large" and "can cause pain, infection, discomfort, and issues with body image," per Cleveland Clinic.

Canadian parents in the school district led multiple campaigns calling for the trans educator's removal. Furious families set up a legal fund on GoFundMe to sue Oakville Trafalgar High School in order to force them to make Lemieux abide by the dress code. The fundraiser was started by Students First Ontario, a parents-led activist group that seeks a uniform dress code for high school teachers.

What is Students First Ontario?

Pictures of Lemieux went viral last year thanks to her Z-cup size prosthetic breasts with protruding nipples that she wore underneath tight-fitting clothes. Some concerned parents decided to form a pressure group to have their demands met by the school board, and thus Students First Ontario came to life. "Since the start of the 2022 Fall term, students at Oakville Trafalgar High School (OTHS) have become part of an international media spectacle - testing the limits of 'diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI)' and 'identity & expression' in a school environment," the group's website reads. Students First Ontario describes itself as "a group of Halton District School Board (HDSB) parents, students, and other concerned members of the Oakville community," adding, "We believe Ontario's public education administrators are failing in their core mission of 'Placing students’ interests and well-being first.'" The group's mission statement is "to offer a principled, strategic, and effective voice for liberal democratic principles in support of student and parental rights."

The Halton District School Board voted on a new dress code for teachers on Wednesday, March 1, but parents were unhappy with the lack of specifics in the ruling. According to The National Post, teachers' dress is covered by the board's "professionalism policy" in the new code. "The draft policy is yet again an example of the HDSB's inability to develop a policy that will address the issue at hand — dress code and professionalism of teachers to ensure that students attend classes in an environment that is safe and distraction-free," a spokesperson for Students First Ontario, Celina Close, said. She accused the school board of avoiding the issue, adding, "Where is the urgency and willingness to work with parents and put the students first?" 

One mother told the board at the Wednesday meeting that it had a duty to protect children. "Parents and schools alike teach children about the importance of boundaries and consent. Boundaries define professionalism in the education system and must be upheld for all in order to restore public trust at the [school district]," she said, drawing applause from fellow parents who called for strict dress codes following the Lemieux controversy. The board ultimately recommended that the Director of Education devise a professionalism policy "to maintain appropriate and professional standards of dress and decorum in the classroom," per the Halton District School Board.