UK School Guidance: Social Transition Bans Are The Next Front In Anti-Trans Laws Globally

The UK's new policy guidance would allow schools to bar social transition, which could mean denial of haircuts, names, and pronouns. US anti-trans activists cheered.

On Monday, the United Kingdom's Department for Education released a set of much-feared draft school policies and guidance concerning transgender students. The contents of the release were horrifying for LGBTQ+ activists in the country: “there is no general duty to allow a child to socially transition.” The plan further outlined policies that would forcibly out trans youth to their parents, ban pronouns for all primary school trans youth, prevent trans youth from using restrooms that align with their gender identity, and could even lead to forced haircuts and clothing choices. In the United States, anti-trans activists and organizations lauded the decision, with some stating it did not go far enough. Draft policies and pending legislation indicate that barring trans kids from expressing their gender identities by banning social transition is the next phase in the international effort to eradicate transgender people from public life.

The UK release would allow for schools and colleges to make transition virtually impossible for students. It states that schools have no duty to allow social transition, even if their parents are fully supportive. Furthermore, trans students would be banned from bathrooms of their gender identity and teachers would have to out transgender students to their parents. The policies even allow schools to enforce uniform policies based on a student’s assigned sex at birth, explicitly stating that transgender students should follow the “hairstyle rules” of their assigned sex at birth. This would lead to trans girls being forced, for instance, to cut their hair short. You can see the policies here:

UK school policies showing schools do not have a duty to allow a child to “socially transition”

UK school policies allowing for forced haircuts for trans youth.

Bans on social transition, which often consists of a name, pronouns, hairstyle, and clothing, are increasingly being promoted globally. Whereas early actions targeting transgender people focused on sports and medical care, proponents of these policies appear to be unsatisfied with the results. Now, the same people who have pushed medical bans on transition care for trans youth and adults are claiming that social transition is actually a medical step, and appear to be declaring it one of the next fronts in their campaign to erase transgender people, and especially transgender youth, from public life.

Anti-trans advocates and organizations in the United States immediately celebrated the new guidelines, with some believing they don't go far enough. Leor Sapir, who has advocated against gender-affirming care and works for the Manhattan Institute—a recipient of substantial funding to oppose trans care from billionaire Joseph Edelman—commented, “This is the way forward for schools on gender issues. May all countries grappling with these issues be lucky enough to have a ⁦⁦@KemiBadenoch.” He referred to UK politician Kemi Badenoch, who played a significant role in the policy's passage. Meanwhile, Stanley Goldfarb, chair of the US-based anti-trans group Do No Harm (also funded by Edelman), expressed disappointment that the guidelines permit schools allow social transition in some cases. He argued that trans youth should be “referred to mental health professionals,” assumedly those that would practice conversion therapy to prevent said social transitioning.

This is also reflected in US laws and policies proposed in recent months. While the UK guidance is profoundly comprehensive and goes further than any state in the United States, elements of it are seen in many anti-trans laws in these states. For instance, many states currently have trans bathroom bans, sports bans, and forced outing policies. Social transition bans, however, is a front even most places in the United States have not touched directly. This is not for lack of trying. Do No Harm currently is advocating for a very similar policy that would make it so that “the school may not aid in social transitioning by using pronouns that are inconsistent with the student’s sex.” Just yesterday, South Carolina saw a bill proposal that would make that policy law, mandating teaching that “it is false” to use a trans person’s pronouns.

Social transition bans are, of course, seen and being promoted in other countries as well. New Zealand’s “Resist Gender Education” calls for the government to ban all social transition in schools, “even with parental consent.” Our Duty Canada likewise announced that it opposed “social transition in schools.” In countries like Russia, social and medical transition are effectively banned entirely under the LGBTQ+ propaganda law and a more recent law banning transition for adults.

The implementation of the UK's policies is likely to encounter significant challenges. Critics have noted that these policies are not legally binding, yet it's unclear how many schools will treat them as such. In a leaked email, government lawyers advised that schools adopting these policies face a “high risk” of successful legal challenges. Regardless of the outcome of these challenges, the policies themselves indicate a stark reality: for those opposing transgender acceptance, the only acceptable outcome appears to be the complete eradication of transgender individuals from public life.