First of all SOGI and SOGI 123 are two different things. Often times these terms are referenced incorrectly when speaking about SOGI 123.
SOGI is a policy statement about sexual orientation and gender identity. The first part of the phrase, “sexual orientation” includes heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, two-spirit, and cisgender sexual orientations. The second part of the phrase, “gender identity” is a contentious term that includes the controversial concept of gender fluidity and the well defined mental illness of gender dysphoria. The British Columbia Human Rights Code was updated on July 25, 2016 in a one day sitting of the Legislative Assembly in which first, second and third readings were given to legislation that added the words “gender identity or expression” to the B.C. Human Rights Code. As MLA Laurie Throness stated in that day’s debates, “Politics these days is so driven by feelings. Everyone has feelings. Transgender people have feelings, and I want to be sensitive to them, but so do others – good and reasonable people, salt-of-the-earth people, not people who hate anyone or who would want to discriminate against others but people who feel genuinely concerned about this. They are just as much a part of this province as anyone else, and they, too, are worthy of respect.”
The BC Ministry of Education has mandated that every school district in the province must have a SOGI policy statement in its policies to be in compliance with the BC Human Rights Code.
SOGI 123 is a learning resource or curriculum supplement for use in K-12 classrooms. It has not been evaluated yet. It is not part of the curriculum but is rather a learning resource the use of which is not mandated by the Ministry of Education.
The BC Ministry of Education has this statement on its website about the evaluation process: “The Ministry of Education no longer conducts evaluation processes to recommend learning resources. This responsibility now rests with boards. Board policies and procedures should include a process for ensuring the list of recommended learning resources is up to date and aligned with changes in curriculum. This would include adding and removing resources from the list.”
SOGI 123 was developed by the ARC Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, BC Teachers’ Federation, UBC Faculty of Education, nine school districts in the province, educational partners, and local, national and international LGBTQ community organizations.