Teachers could be forced to tell parents if kids change gender under new plans
NEW school rules which would force teachers to tell parents if kids change their gender may be kicked back into the next school year.
Equalities chief Kemi Badenoch is locked in a legal battle over the new transgender guidance in schools, The Sun understands.
Sources at the Department for Education say they are now not expecting the completed guidance until autumn.
And even after that, it’s expected to go to a public consultation to get public consent for the plans.
Government insiders insisted they still wanted to get it out “as soon as possible” but it was going through “due diligence” to make sure it’s right.
The long-awaited new rules are expected to instruct teachers to tell parents if a child wants to change their gender, or wear different uniforms.
It will set out school’s legal duties and information about how to respond to transgender issues – but won’t change the law.
It came after a damning paper from Policy Exchange think tank found that a number of secondary schools were disregarding safeguarding principles on gender identity and not keeping parents in the loop.
A government spokesperson said: “We recognise these are challenging issues for schools and teachers to navigate. We are taking the time to get this right to ensure the guidance we provide is as clear as possible, in order to keep children safe.
“Our position remains unchanged – we will publish draft guidance this term which will go to full public consultation.”