England's teachers may not have to address kids in their preferred pronouns, and schools and colleges should not accept all requests for "social transition," according to new government guidance.
Schools should ensure competitive sport is fair for all students, with separate sports for boys and girls, and schools must provide sex-separated toilets for students aged 8 and over, and suitable changing accommodation and showers for pupils aged 11 and over, according to the guidance.
Single-sex schools can refuse to admit pupils of the opposite biological sex, regardless of whether they are questioning their gender.
And gender-questioning children should wear the same uniform standard as other children of their sex.
Sleeping arrangements like dormitories, tents, and shared rooms should be sex-separated, according to the guidance.
"Proper use of this guidance means social transition, in practice, should be extremely rare when the appropriate safeguards are put in place and the child's best interest taken into account," the draft guidance stated.
Also, parents should be fully consulted before any decision is taken, according to Britain's Sky News.
The draft guidance is non-statutory, with parents and teachers now urged to have their say in a 12-week consultation.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the draft guidance puts the "best interests of all children first, removing any confusion about the protections that must be in place for biological sex and single-sex spaces."
She said it makes clear safety and safeguarding for all children must always be schools' primary concern.
Former Conservative Party Prime Minister Liz Truss said the guidance "does not go far enough."
She called for a change in the law rather than non-statutory guidance, Sky News reported.
"I fear that activists and others will be able to exploit loopholes in the guidance and the existing legal framework to pursue their agenda, leaving children at risk of making irreversible changes and with single-sex spaces not sufficiently protected," Truss said.
The former prime minister urged the Conservative government to back her Health and Equality Acts (Amendment) Bill, which she introduced in Parliament Dec. 6.
Under the proposed bill, social transitioning would not be recognized by schools or the state in children, and puberty blockers and hormone treatment for gender dysphoria would be banned for under-18s, Sky News reported.
Trans advocates are not happy with the new guidance. A spokesperson for Mermaids, a transgender youth support charity, said the guidance was "unworkable, out of touch, and absurd."
"Rather than listening to trans young people and reflecting best practice of inclusive educators across the U.K., the government has created more confusion for schools and is putting young people at risk," the spokesperson said.
Peter Malbin ✉
Peter Malbin, a Newsmax writer, covers news and politics. He has 30 years of news experience, including for the New York Times, New York Post and Newsweek.com.
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