Draft equalities guidance leak on trans policies for schools

[BiologyIsReal]

Cannot find on online Daily Telegraph but page 2 of print edition
says a confidential Equality and Human Rights Commission leaked draft reveals admissions of trans students to single sex schools may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Trans boys should be let in to single sex girls schools. It says "A refusal to to admit a trans pupil to a single-sex school......would be discrimination. Admitting such a pupil would not affect the school's single sex status. A pupil who has transitioned, or wants to, must be allowed to continue to attend the school. To remove them would amount to direct gender reassignment discrimination."

Article too long to quote completely but it goes on to say the guidance urges schools to install gender-neutral lavatories, changing and shower rooms wherever possible. If not, trans boys and trans girls can use the single-sex facilities that align with their gender if they wish to do so.

Women's Place (Kiri Tunks) is quoted saying "This guidance shows the mess we create when we conflate sex and gender. The EHRC seems very confused about the difference."

Mermaids (who else?) says "We believe in every transgender child's right to live their life freely and with support and understanding"

(Or as they might have said.. bugger the rights of every natal born girl or boy to live their life freely and with support and understanding).

An EHRC spokesman said "This document is a draft. It will be an important document for schools to help them support all children and meet their duties under the Equality Act."

So no indication that anything in that will change any time soon. Nor that they themselves understand the importance of sex in the Equalties Act either.

Here is the online article

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/30/girls-schools-could-admit-trans-boys-proposals-considered-equalities/

Just to add that the online version is not quite the same as the print version. Some changes made.

The document also says: “An admission policy of only admitting pupils in accordance with their sex recorded at birth would particularly disadvantage trans pupils, and would be indirectly discriminatory against trans pupils, unless it could be demonstrated to be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.”

So 'trans boys should be let into girls single sex schools' does mean 'boys who identify as sexist stereotypes of girls should be let into girls single sex schools' then.

Which is not the way in which trans ideologists usually use the term 'transboy'.

I also really dislike the attempt to purge the English language of ordinary every day terms such as mankind, sportsmanship, wife or husband, mum and dad.

Doing so creates enormous difficulty for those who have literacy problems, learning disabilities, English as a second language. It is about as far from 'inclusive' as it is possible to get. It is, in fact, a new form of etiquette, with the same goal as the old forms, excluding the plebes.

The trouble with 'trans boy' is that the general public do not know if that is a boy who identifies as a girl ie a boy who is trans, or if it means a girl who identifies as a boy.

It leads to a lot of confusion - you sort of need a code matrix on hand to translate a sentence.

(And I am not too sure about the telegraph and ehrc either)

As an aside I work in a MAT of secondary and primary schools. I hate this blithe sentence - schools are urged to install gender neutral lavatories, changing and shower rooms where possible.

Our capital priorities are electrical circuits (ensure they are safe and bring them up to standard if necessary), fire safety (alarms / sounders up to standard), asbestos removal, leaking roof, site security (fencing to ensure site is secure), replacing drains and upgrading showers and changing rooms. That is before we get onto changes that would help the curriculum- replacing sports hall floors, heaters, D&T facilities.

The upgrading of the showers & changing rooms - discussing it with the Head of PE - he wants space as there are often 2/3 classes changing at once and pupils use the existing shower area to change in. Our existing changing rooms are too small with group changing never mind restricting this further by splitting them into individual spaces or the cost of doing this. There is no money or space for individual changing areas. We could find space for a small number of these but not across the board. We have severe space and cash restrictions and are struggling to meet our statutory H&S requirements which must be our priority.

One of things I see in most schools I go in is the lack of space - for teaching, areas for small groups to work in, a quiet safe area for some children when needed. I think individual provision could be made but gender neutral for all facilities is not achievable. I don’t think that where gender neutral facilities are not available children should not use the facilities of the gender they identify with. It is a balance of needs and those of other children should also be considered,

Sorry - that was long

Sex discrimination

Admission to single-sex schools

1(1)Section 85(1), so far as relating to sex, does not apply in relation to a single-sex school.

(2)A single-sex school is a school which—

(a)admits pupils of one sex only, or

(b)on the basis of the assumption in sub-paragraph (3), would be taken to admit pupils of one sex only.

(3)That assumption is that pupils of the opposite sex are to be disregarded if—

(a)their admission to the school is exceptional, or

(b)their numbers are comparatively small and their admission is confined to particular courses or classes.

(4)In the case of a school which is a single-sex school by virtue of sub-paragraph (3)(b), section 85(2)(a) to (d), so far as relating to sex, does not prohibit confining pupils of the same sex to particular courses or classes.

Single-sex boarding at schools

2(1)Section 85(1), so far as relating to sex, does not apply in relation to admission as a boarder to a school to which this paragraph applies.

(2)Section 85(2)(a) to (d), so far as relating to sex, does not apply in relation to boarding facilities at a school to which this paragraph applies.

Here they are saying single sex schools can admit a child of the opposite sex but only if their admission is exceptional. It doesn’t say anything about only being about to avoid doing so if proportionate means to achieve a legitimate end. Nor does it extend to boarding.

Single sex education is an important option for many families. How will this affect them?

This should not even be an issue for single-sex schools (clue is in the name there). No legal basis for admitting or excluding kids on the basis for how they identify. It’s on the basis of their biological sex.

Excellent point ImGenderfree about the limited resources issue and PE. Imagine the logistical / health and safety implications of a 14 year old boy self identifying as a girl and insisting on using the female changing rooms for swimming lessons. How many teenage girls (out of a class of 30) would be happy to undress in front of them? Maybe 5? 10 girls?? So that's 20 girls needing to head off to use the alternate facilities (as it's girls who apparently need to move if they can't be reeducated). How long would that take? Where are the alternative changing facilities? Who supervises ... and on and on.... It's completely unsustainable. Yet this stuff is being offered as guidance for schools??

truth but it is worse than dignity and privacy, it is also about safety due to the erosion of boundaries; the telling of girls that they are not allowed to feel uncomfortable getting undressed in front of men, that men’s feelings on this matter more than their own, that they are bigoted if they don’t expose themselves to men, that men must be allowed to expose themselves, that they have to accept exposed penises (possibly erect) in their close vicinity and they mustn’t object, or even leave the space...

Completely agree Birdsfoottrefoil . The whole thing is a complete disaster - and we know that in the long run parents will just not accept their children being put at risk like this. But it is such an unbelievable assault on the safety of girls that I think people almost don't believe it.
After all these decades of prioritising safeguarding, the idea that a government agency will promote what are essentially predatory values, is incredible.
Predatory males have desired unhindered access to girls and women in vulnerable situations and for years - and here's the EHRC enshrining this in guidance.

All yet again seems to be telling girls and women to shut up and put up.This really needs to be challenged.I wish these groups would stop trying to down grade the biology let's use the word sex

Absolutely spot on.Girls and women seem to be an inconvenience.Once again men be it trans or otherwise in charge of the narrative.

It seems EHRC don’t know who they have consulted about this: www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/602315/response/1443097/attach/7/FOI1407%20Martin%2020191003%20Response.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1

Translation- please go away or you will embarrass us.

Well done for submitting a FOI response. In summary the response seems to be ‘we asked lots of people but we can’t remember who’. This isn’t good enough because they must know the main organisations they talked to and it can’t be hard to pull these out.

Emails don't write themselves.

Just supply the spreadsheet they came from.

If there was one. If there was a consultation. With anyone.

As an aside, I work for an organisation that had to consult a large range of organisations. We keep all the requests and responses.

To pretend otherwise is deliberate obfuscation

That's an appalling response. The only way they can find out which organisations they sent it to is to check 3k plus emails? Doesn't anyone have a spreadsheet to tick off to make sure relevant stakeholders are accounted for? When I managed a public consultation once, that's what I did. And it would be the work of minutes to supply that list.

I would appeal as far as you can go. Organisations are not supposed to routinely avoid given the public information.

*Giving

So wait, girls schools have to admit both transgirls (born male) and transboys (born female). So basically girls schools are for everyone? What about boys schools? Are they required to admit anyone who wants in?

Like, transboy wants to go to Eton. Can they?

Not my foi

But to pretend that the guidelines somehow fell together from dozens of different departments without any coordination is disingenuous at best.