The United Kingdom has published official guidance for gender questioning children in schools. This is based on the the leadership and months-long research from Parliamentary member Kemi Badenoch.
The guidance advises that” there is no general duty to allow a child to ‘social transition,’” because as Badenoch has repeatedly said, “No child is born in the wrong body.” The guidance says that schools should “allow for watchful waiting” to “help ensure unnecessary action is not undertaken.” This is because all academic research on gender dysphoria shows that it is highly likely to be resolved through a normal course of puberty.
The guidance says that parents must be included in all decisions related to gender transition, which has not been normal protocol in recent years of increasing gender transitions.
Badenoch has repeatedly said that government guidance would be evidence based and that the government would not be bullied by advocacy groups. One such group, Stonewall, says that this guidance is not in the “best interest of children” and “not fit for purpose.”
Some high schools in the UK report that this new guidance is a departure from what they’ve been doing and that they don’t normally notify parents about name changes and other identity issues.
The UK Labour Secretary Bridget Phillipson said that this is an important step for teachers and schools that have been asking for guidance on this matter for far too long.
