COMMENTS OF THE ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER

If you answered no, what considerations would be more helpful for schools and colleges to consider? For example, when assessing whether to support a child wishing to socially transition, do you think different weight should be given to the views of parents, the age of the child, the long- and short-term impacts on the child, the impact on other children, and any relevant clinical or medical advice. [...] If you answered no, in which of the following areas do schools and colleges need further guidance to respond to a child’s requests to change their pronouns? The Department should allow for a greater range of flexibility in a child’s ability to change their name and pronouns due to the importance of social transitioning to mental health outcomes. [...] Under the Equality Act, gender reassignment is a protected characteristic, and engaging in a social transition is sufficient to constitute gender reassignment for the purpose of the Equality Act.24 Under section 85(5) of the Equality Act, a responsible body of a school cannot victimize a pupil in the way it provides education or access to facilities.25 Barring a transgender student from accessing. [...] The Department should update this Consultation to require a case-by-case evaluation as to whether a student should be able to use the appropriate facility and mandate the existence of alternate accommodations if a child is unwilling to use the facilities inconsistent with their gender identity. [...] All students deserve to feel safe and respected at school, and the Department for Education can support that vision with its guidance relating to gender questioning kids by centering the privacy and wellbeing of the transgender child in its policies, rather than focusing on the effect of the transition on outside parties.