Ontario high schools are getting new sign language courses this fall

Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce speaks at the province's daily briefing at the Ontario Legislature at Queen's Park in Toronto on Tuesday May 19, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jack Boland

TORONTO — High schools across Ontario will now be able to offer students second-language courses in both American Sign Language (ASL) and Langue des signes québécoise (LSQ) starting this fall, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced Thursday.

High schools will be permitted to begin offering these courses starting in September, Lecce said.

“By offering students the chance to learn ASL or LSQ, they can expand their language skills while developing greater understanding of Ontario's ASL and LSQ culture,” Lecce said in a written statement.

Speaking at a news conference on Thursday afternoon, Lecce said the province consulted with the ASL and LSQ communities and stakeholders about the course content.

“Ontario is the first jurisdiction in Canada to offer ministry-developed LSQ as a second language curriculum and one of the first jurisdictions to offer ministry-developed ASL as a second language curriculum,” the education minister said.

In a news release issued by the provincial government on Thursday, Donald Prong, the executive director for the Ontario Association of the Deaf, said the new curriculum is a “step in the right direction.”

"It will enhance students' understanding of the language and identity of ASL people in Ontario: ASL peoples' sense of self, of membership, of culture, and of humanity and encourages students to develop respect for human diversity,” he said.

“We want to recognize that the Ministry of Education's commitment to developing this curriculum is a step in the right direction. We were very pleased to have been asked to participate in its development and we look forward to future opportunities of working together."

At Thursday’s news conference, Wanda Blackett, of Silent Voice Canada, said the availability of these credit courses in Ontario high schools will have a “tremendous impact” on the deaf community.

“The ASL and LSQ communities are celebrating today,” she said.

Blackett acknowledged that there is still work to be done to build up a pool of qualified instructors to teach these courses.

“LSQ and ASL, in terms of the availability of proficient teachers who could teach at all of the school boards, I think if we are looking at answering this question today, we are not there yet,” she signed.

“But I think there is possibility for capacity building over the next little while. Certainly we do have teachers available but with this initiative now, I expect that pool will increase over time.”