New transgender guidelines from England’s Department for Education (DFE) state that teachers in England should not be obligated to comply with requests from students seeking to “socially transition” at school. The guidelines are issued in response to the growing complexity of the phenomenon involving an increasing number of children questioning their gender.
The draft guidance states that if a student transitions, teachers and staff won’t face sanctions if they don’t adopt new pronouns. In addition, teachers in England should tell parents if their child wants to change their gender identity at school, arguing that “significant decisions” affecting a child’s future shouldn’t be taken without parental involvement.
As per the “Gender Questioning Children” guidance, teachers are advised to accommodate requests for “social transition” in the “vast majority of cases.” However, in “exceptionally rare circumstances,” educators have the discretion to withhold information if disclosing it could pose a “significant risk” of harm to the child. New transgender guidelines
“Schools are facing requests to take actions such as changing names, uniforms, or using different facilities to help a child appear more like the opposite sex, with the expectation that they will be treated as if they are,” the document states. “This is often referred to as social transitioning.”
The guidance is based on a set of five principles to address such requests stating schools and colleges “have statutory duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children,” “should be respectful and tolerant places where bullying is never tolerated,” “have specific legal duties that are framed by a child’s biological sex,” “Parents should not be excluded from decisions taken by a school or college relating to requests for a child to ‘socially transition,'” and that “There is no general duty to allow a child to ‘social transition.'”