UK teachers can freely misgender trans kids & must out them to parents in “absurd” new guidance

After months of delay, England’s Department for Education (DfE) released draft guidance today on how schools and colleges should treat transgender and nonbinary students.

According to the guidance, schools do not have a “general duty to allow a child to ‘social transition’” and in the case of primary school-aged children (under 11), schools are banned from using pronouns that do not correspond with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Related:

Ian McKellen fears a return of Thatcher-era law banning “promotion of homosexuality”

The U.K. government may soon have its own version of ‘”Don’t Say Gay” in schools.

School officials must inform parents if students request to change their pronouns or name or ask to wear school uniforms that do not align with the sex they were assigned at birth, except in “very rare situations where informing parents might raise a significant risk of harm to the child.”

Global perspectives delivered right to your inbox

Our newsletter bridges borders to bring you LGBTQ+ news from around the world.

Daily

Weekly

Good News

Schools and colleges are also instructed to consider the impact of respecting a trans or nonbinary student’s gender identity on other students, and “may conclude that the impact on the school and college community is such that it may not be possible to agree to support a request.” The guidance also states that “no teacher or pupil should be compelled to use [a trans or nonbinary student’s] preferred pronouns.”

Teachers unions blasted the draft guidance and its timing. “This is typical of government to put out important guidance in the last week of term, a very busy period for schools,” National Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede told the Morning Star.

Kebede stressed that the guidance must still undergo a 12-week public consultation before it is finalized. “It is also important to underline that schools do not need to change their current policies at this stage,” he said. “Schools work hard to be sensitive, practical, and responsive to the wellbeing of students who are non-binary or questioning their gender identity.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said that the draft guidance leaves many questions unanswered.

The BBC reports that some teachers say they will continue to follow their own policies of accepting trans and nonbinary students’ identities. One teacher who wished to remain anonymous said they refuse to out children to their parents.

Mermaids, an organization that advocates for transgender youth, called the guidance “unworkable, out of touch and absurd.”

“Rather than listening to trans young people and reflecting best practice of inclusive educators across the UK, the government has created more confusion for schools and is putting young people at risk,” the organization said in a statement.