Transilience

rights in school

Being transgender in school can be difficult, especially in the current political climate. Between juggling peers' views, family's reactions and teachers' questions about what it all means, it can be difficult to find the reality amongst all the noise surrounding you.

In this article I hope to clear up some of this confusion by outlining everything you need to know to get through school as a transgender youth.

The most important policy to note is the Equality Act 2010 which protects all those who fall under any protected characteristic, such as gender reassignment which includes anyone at any stage in their transition. You do not need to have undergone any surgery or medical processes, or have any intention to do so, in order to be protected under this characteristic. Students requesting to be called by a preferred name or pronouns are therefore protected under the law, giving their school a duty to support them.

Under this act there are two main types of discrimination a person can experience on the basis of gender reassignment, direct and indirect. Direct discrimination, according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (2023), is classified as someone treating you “worse than another person in a similar situation because you are trans”. Indirect Discrimination is slightly more nuanced, it tends to occur through organisational policies and can be harder to fight due to “objective justification” which allows indirect discrimination if a good reason is provided for it. A person can also be discriminated against through harassment and victimisation.

In 2014 the Department of Education released a document outlining how the 2010 Equality Act applied to the school setting, with a whole section detailing how gender reassignment should be handled in regards to this. It states that, as of 2014, protection from gender reassignment discrimination applies to pupils as well as staff, as long as they are “taking steps to live in the opposite gender” even if they are not undergoing medical procedures. Under this description students who are socially transitioning are protected from any of the forms of discrimination mentioned in the above paragraph. In the uniforms section it states schools “need to be careful that blanket uniform policies do not discriminate because of race, religion or belief, gender, disability, gender reassignment or sexual orientation”, which could be inferred to mean trans students may be allowed to whichever uniform they feel most comfortable in. This is elaborated on further when it is stated “Schools need also to consider whether flexibility is needed in relation to uniform to meet the needs of a pupil who is undergoing gender reassignment”. However, uniform is not directly covered in the equality act, and is very often controlled and dictated by the governing body of the school.

However in recent years this support has become less cut and dry. Due to new guidance given to schools in December of 2023 (found here), teachers no longer have an obligation to respect a transgenders student's wishes to socially transition, for example they do not have to use the students' chosen pronouns. This is reinforced in the government's blog, The Education Hub, which states “If a child does ask to socially transition, for example, to use a pronoun that is different to their biological sex, then teachers shouldn’t automatically agree”. While non-statutory, the guidance advises that teachers should inform parents “if a student wishes to change their gender identity at school”(Moss and Parry 2023). This is at odds with best practice established by experts working with trans youth. It leads to significant safeguarding concern, causing problems for children living in unaccepting households, such as greater risk of harm or abuse (Mermaids 2024).

This guidance has come under fire, due to being potentially unable to hold up in court. Adams (2024), an education editor for The Guardian, wrote that many lawyers “said parts of the guidance would fail to stand up to legal challenges”. Therefore schools following the guidance and not respecting a student's wishes to transition could still face legal action for discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, leading to confusion for both students and staff on how to proceed.

In the face of this conflicting guidance, at Transilience we strongly advise that the wellbeing of trans youth is prioritised, and their identity respected. Trans young people have the right to express themselves however they wish.

In short, dealing with the education system as a young transgender person is difficult, infinitely more so as the media and government become increasingly more obsessed with the moral panic they have created. However there are a few things you can do to make it easier for yourself:

Try and find out what your schools policies and treatment of trans people is like by talking to others who have started their public transition
Don’t come out to teachers/staff if it may put you at risk at home until you know how the school handles these situations
Talk to a teacher or friends that you trust first
If you do have parental support, make sure they contact the school as it’s more likely this will speed up processes like name changes on registers etc.
See what support your school has in place, many now have LGBTQ+ support groups or wellbeing staff with extra training in order to help you
Contact support services such as Transilience if you need help or are concerned about your safety.

By Elliot

References

Moss and Parry (2023), Transgender Guidance: schools to keep parents informed,

Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67754359 (accessed 31st Jan)

Mermaids (2024), What does the proposed trans school guidance really say? A Mermaids Explainer

Available at: https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/news/trans-schools-guidance-explainer/#:~:text=Enforcing%20an%20unspecified%20period%20of,risk%20of%20harm%20or%20abuse. (accessed 31st Jan)

Adams (2024) Guidance on treatment of transgender pupils poses legal risks, says union

Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/mar/13/government-guidance-treatment-transgender-pupils-england-poses-legal-risks-unions (accessed 31st Jan)

Gov.uk (2023), Gender Questioning children: Everything you need to know about new draft guidance for schools

Available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/12/gender-questioning-children-guidance-schools-colleges/ (Accessed 31st Jan)

Equality and human rights commision (2018), Equality Act 2010

Available at: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/equality/equality-act-2010 (accessed Feb 13th)