Melbourne-based Jewish school Leibler Yavneh College has launched a well-being policy for its LGBTQI students. The policy, the school explained, will ensure a safe and inclusive community for all students, staff members and the community.
Founded in 1961, the school located in the Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick, has over 700 students enrolled in its primary and secondary sections.
“Caring for the wellbeing of LGBTQI students does not negate nor detract from our commitment to the Torah and Torah values. Rather, it is our obligation, as part of our commitment to the Torah,” Principal Cherylyn Skewes said in a letter to parents informing them about the new policy.
In 2018, the school had published a guide for Orthodox Jewish Schools to ensure the well-being of LGBTQI students. The new well-being policy builds on the guide and takes into account the “harmful effects of bullying, name-calling and insensitivity.” LYC’s Positive Relationships (including Anti-Bullying/Harassment) Policy has expanded the definition of discrimination to now include “homophobia and other hostile behaviours towards students relating to gender issues and sexuality.”
Discrimination now includes homophobic, biphobic or transphobic language that is used, even without any malicious intent. The school said that its teachers had undertaken professional development to equip with the skills need to support students who identify as LGBTQI.
Read the article by Shibu Thomas in Star Observer.