Teachers in England should not have to accept requests from students who want to "socially transition" at school, according to new transgender guidelines released by England's Department for Education (DFE) in response to "the complex phenomenon of the 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The draft guidance states that if a student transitions, teachers and staff won't face sanctions if they don't adopt new pronouns.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.
The "Gender Questioning Children" guidance states this should happen in the "vast majority of cases," but in "exceptionally rare circumstances," teachers can decide to withhold information if revealing it could put a child at "significant risk" of harm.
"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.'"
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said in a press release announcing the guidance that it puts the best interests of all children first, "removing any confusion about the protections that must be in place for biological sex and single-sex spaces and making clear that safety and safeguarding for all children must always be schools’ primary concern."
"Parents’ views must also be at the heart of all decisions made about their children – and nowhere is that more important than with decisions that can have significant effects on a child’s life for years to come," she added.
The same sentiment was echoed in the guidance stating schools should also take a "cautious approach" to such decisions as it is "clear that social transition is not a neutral act."
Kemi Badenoch, the UK Minister for Women and Equalities, said the guidance aims to give teachers and school leaders "greater confidence when dealing with an issue that has been hijacked by activists misrepresenting the law."
"It makes clear that schools do not have to accept a child’s request to socially transition, and that teachers or pupils should not be pressured into using different pronouns," she said. "We are also clear how vital it is that parents are informed and involved in the decisions that impact their children’s lives."
In contrast, school districts across the U.S. have been accused of secretly transitioning children at school.
For example, over three million K-12 students in 25 districts across the country's public school system are permitted to change their names without parental consent, according to a report conducted by the Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies (DFI) and shared with Fox News Digital.
Eight of the nation’s 20 largest school districts allow students to use names and pronouns that align with their chosen gender identity at school without parental knowledge or consent, according to the report "Pills and Pronouns: School Districts Require Parental Consent for Over-the-Counter Medicine, But Not New Names."
Only three school districts in the nation’s 20 largest by enrollment have readily available policies that require parents to be notified if their child wants to go by a different name based on their gender identity.
