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The trans high school teacher in Canada who flaunts oversized breast forms will have to tone down her revealing wardrobe if school board members have their way.
Kayla Lemieux, a tech teacher at Oakville Trafalgar High School in an upscale residential area about 25 miles west of Toronto, has received worldwide attention after photos and videos surfaced on social media showing her dazzling fake breasts.
Under pressure from outraged parents, the Halton District School Board (HDSB) has issued a statement explaining that its hands are tied because of the county’s human rights code.
And students seem to support the move. Several took part in a small protest outside the school on Friday, with one declaring: ‘This is a school, not a circus. We just want to learn.’
On Wednesday, a motion was tabled at a school board meeting to consider changing the dress code — which could mean Lemieux would have to drop the fabric-stretching breast forms, which sell online for a whopping $1,000.
Transgender teacher Kayla Lemieux went viral when she was pictured in the middle of shopping class wearing huge breast forms
DailyMail.com can reveal school board members voted Wednesday to consider introducing a dress code
At a meeting of the HDSB on Wednesday, trustee Tracey Ehl Harrison filed a motion to “request the director to return to the board of directors by November 2022, a report addressing the various considerations related to dress code.”
“The HDSB recognizes the rights of students, staff, parents/guardians and members of the community to equal treatment without discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression,” the board said in a statement. “Gender identity and gender expression are protected grounds under the Ontario Human Rights Code.”
Minutes before the final bell on Friday, a small group of protesters appeared at the end of the school’s driveway, yelling at school officials to “protect our children.”
Across the street, several people were holding signs that read “Inclusivity Doesn’t Excuse Depravity.” One person held up a sign that read, “Teacher’s personal propaganda has no place in the classroom.”
Most of the students emerging from the school’s numerous exits left to start their weekend, but a group of mostly senior students joined the protest.
Police officers, faced with a crowd that swelled to nearly 100, escorted vehicles from the school parking lot.
“Thank you for standing up for us,” a male student shouted before handing a megaphone. ‘This is a school, not a circus! We just want to learn!’
Another student told protesters that he doesn’t go to school to be “distracted.”
“It’s so crazy that nobody does anything.”
Students who joined the fracas said they are bound by a dress code that prohibits exposed nipples or genitals, so they wonder why the same rules don’t apply to Lemieux.
One of the organizers of the protests denounced the human rights code of protecting “a man who dresses up as a woman with fake boobs in size Z”.
“What are we doing to our children to allow this?” he asked the crowd.
Protesters from a faith-based group called Action 4 Canada called on the principal and school administrators to resign for failing to protect the students.
As it turned out, Lemieux was taken from the school to the driveway of an adjacent YMCA daycare, where she was wheeled off the scene.
Protesters have vowed to keep fighting and are planning more demonstrations.
At a meeting of the HDSB on Wednesday, trustee Tracey Ehl Harrison filed a motion to “request the director to return to the board by November 2022, with a report addressing the various considerations related to dress code.”
Lemieux was photographed and captured by students wearing the large prosthetics in class. The photos have gone viral and many have criticized the teacher’s clothes
The prosthetics were so large that she stretched her clothes and protruded prominently (right)
The motion was unanimously approved.
Without mentioning Lemieux, Harrison spoke of messages she has received about the teacher’s appearance.
“Some of them have been pretty mean from groups from far beyond Canada’s borders, which are described as hate groups,” she said. “So it’s been an interesting time to say the least.”
If a dress code is imposed, Lemieux may have to get rid of the boobs.
HDSB director of education Curtis Ennis reiterated during the meeting that the board is obliged to protect Lemieux.
“As you know, a school in the Halton District School Board has received a lot of attention online in recent days,” he read from a prepared statement.
“Guided by our commitment to the Multi-Year Strategic Plan and our commitment to the Human Rights Equality Accountability Plan, The Way Forward, the Halton District School Board has strived to address this concern in a manner that remains true to our values, respects privacy and dignity of our students and staff, and with the safety and well-being of students and staff as our highest priority.’
‘As a staff we are guided by numerous legislation and also fundamentally by the privacy and confidentiality of each of our 10,000 employees. While I understand the public’s desire for information, we will not and cannot publicly discuss an issue that directly or indirectly identifies our employees. I trust that the public understands the parameters that guide us.’
Lemieux is protected at the school by both a private security company and officers from the Halton Regional Police Department.
On Friday, a police SUV made the rounds in the school parking lot, while another sat at the entrance to the property.
Students said the heavy police presence is more interesting than Lemieux’s heavy prosthetics.
“It’s kind of crazy that we’re almost locked up because of haters,” complained Mark, a grade 11 student, who said school officials “haven’t really talked about what’s going on, except to tell us suspicious people on the grounds.’
One of his classmates, who did not give his name, said that Lemieux taught without fuss for almost two weeks. “People were talking about it, but it wasn’t a big deal.”
Lemieux, like the school board that employs her, keeps her mouth shut about the controversy. She did not respond to an interview request.
A lone protester waving a Canadian flag (above) came to the school on Monday
Police were stationed at Oakville Trafalgar High School on Thursday
Although the school’s online faculty directory — which was removed from public view last week — listed the teacher as “Kayla Lemieux,” she remains identified as Kerry Luc Lemieux in the school’s records. Ontario College of Teachers, which certifies all teachers in the province.
Lemieux received a diploma in education from Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology in 2002 and a diploma in education from Queen’s University in 2006. As all teachers should do, she has successfully completed a sexual abuse prevention program.
Before working at Oakville Trafalgar High School, Lemieux was a tech teacher at Ancaster High School, about 30 miles west. According to disclosure data, she earned a whopping $100,206.46 CAD (US$73,627) in 2020.
High school parents and students seemed divided on the issue.
Owen LaPlante, a 12th grader at the school, told the Toronto sun that while some people support Lemieux, others are not comfortable with the situation.
“I’m at peace with it,” he said. “I know some of my friends are a little uncomfortable with it, but I think she should be able to express herself as she pleases.”
Yuxuan Xie, a 10th grade student, told the Sun that most of the kids at school seem to have brushed up on the incident.
“I don’t really hear anyone talking about it,” he said. “I guess we might not care about that.”
A woman who identified herself as Lei, a mother of a senior at the school, told The Sun that while she was okay with Lemieux coming out as a trans woman, she said wearing such large prosthetics was too much.
“I think he’s going a little too far,” Lei said. “I think it’s okay to identify oneself, but I think wearing that alone in class… that still worries me.”