Survey of the Effects of Law 21 on Students and Staff in Faculties of Education in Québec.

This article examines the impacts of Québec's Law 21, the Act respecting the Laicity of the State, on faculties and departments of education during its first year of application, based on a survey of 972 students and staff in Québec universities. Although Law 21 legally applies only to public employees in positions of authority and not to student teachers, respondents reported increased negative and discriminatory treatment of student teachers—particularly those who are undergraduate, female, immigrants or of immigrant background, non-Francophone, and members of visible or religious minorities—during teaching internships. The law has also been associated with more polarized and conflictual interactions in university classrooms, adverse psychological effects, and challenges to academic and professional success. Universities have implemented various measures to address these issues, such as institutional statements and course modifications, but some responses have inadvertently contributed to stigmatization or exclusion. The findings highlight tensions between the law's secularism mandate, its invocation of the notwithstanding clause to bypass human rights protections, and the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion upheld by educational institutions.