More than two dozen students at a Regina high school have walked out of class in protest of the Saskatchewan government’s proposed pronoun legislation.

It was among several walkouts that had been planned across the province. 

Those who participated say the legislation is harmful to students who aren’t ready to come out to their parents at home.

They say it’s also harmful for gender-diverse students to not be called by their chosen name and pronoun.

The legislation tabled last week requires parental consent when children want to change their names or pronouns at school.

The bill says school staff must call students by their birth name and pronoun if consent is not provided. The Sask Party Government is using the “notwithstanding clause” of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to make sure their law doesn’t face a court challenge it would most certainly lose.

Debate over that law is continuing in the legislature, and despite attempts by the opposition NDP to stall passage of the bill, the government’s huge majority in the house will eventually force it through.

-With files from the Canadian Press-