Long-awaited transgender guidance for schools will be delayed, the education secretary has confirmed.
Gillian Keegan said on Wednesday that the government advice won’t be in place ahead of Parliament’s summer recess, but did say schools will be required to get parental consent for pupils to identify as a different gender.
It followed reports that the attorney-general warned Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that plans to ban schoolchildren from socially transitioning without parental consent, would be unlawful.
On Tuesday, the Times of London quoted an unnamed Whitehall source who stated Victoria Prentis concluded that the government’s draft guidance could cause serious legal implications.
Ms. Prentis’s office said it does not disclose advice given to the government, however, Tory MP Miriam Cates said it appeared that the government has been told its gender identity proposals aren’t lawful.
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) union has reacted with disappointment at the delay, saying the lack of guidance is “frustrating” as teachers are having to navigate the “complex and sensitive subject” on their own.
In March, Mr. Sunak pledged that guidance for schools on transgender issues would be published “for the summer term.”
‘A Little bit Longer’
Speaking to ITV’s “Peston” programme on Wednesday, Ms. Keegan said: “We are working on the guidance and we were hoping to get that out but it is going to take us a little bit longer.“It is confusing, by the way, and we know that people are confused—it’s why we committed to do the guidance in the first place.”
The education secretary said it will state that children should not change gender ID without schools having a conversation with parents.
“Yes, we think parental consent is really very important in this,” she said.
The minister made clear they favour issuing guidance rather than a law change because “guidance is quicker than legislation.”
However, Conservative colleague Ms. Cates said the government was prepared to legislate on the contentious issue if necessary.
“It sounds as though the government has reached the position where if they were to say to schools, no, you can’t change a child’s gender, you are a boy, a he and him, then they’re not sure whether that is lawful,” she told Talk TV on Tuesday.
“Yes, there’s going to be a delay, but that’s if we’re acknowledging that actually, schools shouldn’t be transitioning children, that is a step forward.”
Teachers Vulnerable
Transgender teacher Debbie Hayton said that schools needed to teach children that “biological sex is real,” but added that sexist stereotypes needed to be addressed.“But if we don’t have to do that, then then we shouldn’t be discriminating unnecessarily.
“But the key I think, is not to create this characteristic of the trans child, but to start to give freedoms to all children where appropriate that they are not necessarily bound by sexist stereotypes.”
The transgender columnist also said that even if government guidance is issued, schools may still have their own in-house policies on gender identity which, if broken by staff, could lead to disciplinary action.
“Yes, they could take it to an employment tribunal but that’s years down the line sometimes and they don’t keep their job in the meantime. So it makes teachers vulnerable.”
The controversial new guidelines from the National Education Union were sent to over 500,000 members in May.
The union’s new rules raised concerns among some members that those holding gender-critical views could be left open to unfair disciplinary action, or even being kicked out of the union.
Complex and Sensitive
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL, said the government needed to move to make clear to schools how it can navigate the “complex and sensitive” subject.“We’ve been telling the government that schools and colleges need clear guidance on provision for transgender and gender-questioning pupils for the past five years, so it is frustrating that it has now got to the point of producing something but appears to be locked in an internal political squabble which is causing a further delay,” he said on Wednesday.
“At present, schools have to navigate this complex and sensitive subject entirely on their own.
“Clear, practical guidance on this matter is important as long as it is genuinely supportive to schools and pupils and does not add to the existing and onerous expectations on schools.”
A report published by the centre-right think tank Policy Exchange in March, suggested a number of secondary schools are not informing parents as soon as a child questions their gender identity.
It suggested that safeguarding principles are being “routinely disregarded in many secondary schools” when it comes to gender identity.
Mr. Sunak told broadcasters on Wednesday: “This is a really complex and sensitive issue because it affects the wellbeing of our children. And it’s important that we get it right, given those complexities and sensitivities.
“I’m committed to bringing forward that guidance but I want to make sure that we take the time to go through it properly.”
The prime minister’s official spokesman said “more evidence” is needed before publishing the guidance on transgender pupils, but he declined to say whether ministers would change the law alongside the new guidance.
A spokesman for the attorney general’s office said: “By longstanding convention, reflected in the ministerial code, whether the law officers have been asked to provide legal advice and the content of any advice is not disclosed outside government without their explicit consent. That consent is rarely given.”
