(IntegrityPress.org) – New draft guidance released May 16 from the United Kingdom’s Department of Education prohibits teachers from discussing “gender identity” with students.
During lessons about relationships, sex, and health education (RSHE), the new draft guidance will require parents to receive notification about what their children are being taught and that “teaching materials are available to parents.” It also requires RSHE lessons to be age-appropriate and taught “from a purely scientific standpoint.” The guidance includes lessons about suicide prevention and the risks of viewing content online that promotes self-harm online, as well as sexual harassment, relationships, and sexual violence.
The new guidance sets clear limits, ensuring children are “not exposed to too much too soon,” according to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan.
The new draft guidance comes after MP Miriam Cates told British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Parliament in March 2023 about students being exposed to content that was “age-inappropriate, extreme, sexualizing and inaccurate.” Sunak ordered a review, stating he was “horrified” to learn what was “happening in our classrooms.”
In announcing the new draft guidance, he stated he would “always act swiftly to protect our children,” adding that the new guidance will ensure students are protected and not “exposed to disturbing content that is inappropriate for their age.” He noted the guidance allows parents to view the “curriculum content if they wish” and helps support “teachers to teach these important topics sensitively.”
The guidelines will not be finalized until after a period of public comment, lasting until July 11.
The move comes after a review completed in April that urged “caution” in prescribing children hormone treatments and the closure of England’s first gender identity development service for children.
The draft guidance is similar legislation signed into law in March 2022 by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which protects parental rights in education, prohibits the teaching of gender identity until after third grade, and requires lessons to be age-appropriate.
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