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A Canadian high school teacher has been furloughed after reportedly wearing prosthetic breasts in class.
Parents of students at Oakville Trafalgar High School, southwest of Toronto, where Kayla Lemieux taught store classes, were frustrated after months of debates about her appearance.
School district officials said she was placed on paid leave earlier this week, according to the New York Post.
“Although the teacher does not currently have an active assignment, she remains employed by the Halton District School Board,” spokeswoman Heather Francey told the Toronto Sun.
The decision to furlough the teacher came after The Post reported that journalists followed her, noting that she only wears prosthetics in class and dresses as a man outside of work.
Ms Lemieux told the Post that the man in the pictures she posted was not her and said she has a rare condition that causes her to have larger than normal breasts.
The newspaper reported that the teacher was suspended after Ontario Minister of Education Stephen Lecce and provincial MPs Natalie Pierre, Stephen Crawford and Effie Triantafilopoulos criticized the school board for “evading its responsibilities by… they didn’t consider the interests and safety of students first,” The Sun reported.
A mother, identified only as Lynn, told the board on Wednesday that “forms of identity and expression are being portrayed in the school environment [must] be assessed against the child’s protective practices”.
Both school officials and the teacher became the target of threats, and meetings of the board of education became chaotic.
The Post reported last month that “Once Lemieux leaves school, he often drops his boobs, wig and makeup and comes across as a man.”
Kayla Lemieux in a store class at Oakville Trafalgar High School in Ontario
(Screenshot / YouTube / Toronto Sun)
A neighbor told the Post that she “very rarely” wears the outfit seen at school.
But Ms Lemieux told the newspaper that the man in the pictures released by the outlet was not her, and she dismissed the notion that she was wearing prosthetics.
“They’re real,” she told the newspaper.
“This is who I am. This is what I look like. They have spoken to people in my building but what they tell you is harsh and untrue. I always come out as I am,” the teacher added.
She added that she started hormone replacement therapy in 2021. She said she was “in transition” but added that she is not a “transgender person” but was born “intersex”.
She said she was never diagnosed, but told the Post her large breasts were caused by “gigantomastia.”
“Gigantomamastia is a rare condition that causes your breasts to become excessively large. It can cause pain, infection, discomfort, and body image issues. Your doctor can treat gigantomastia with a breast reduction surgery or medication,” according to the Cleveland Clinic’s website.
“The speed at which your breasts grow can vary from a few weeks to several years. The tissue is almost always benign (noncancerous),” he adds.
“It’s an unusual situation. Only about 300 cases have been reported,” the website reads.
Parents have told the Halton County School Board to introduce a dress code for teachers. It was rejected last year over concerns it might not be compatible with Ontario’s human rights code.
The school board agreed in January to work on a policy for teachers to have a “proper and professional” appearance.
Ms Lemieux told the Post that she would “follow the advice of the board” but added: “I don’t think there is a problem with my clothes. It is other people’s personal opinion. I don’t think I dressed unprofessionally.”
The Independent has reached out to the Halton District County School Board for comment.