Trans teachers must be allowed to use the same showers and lavatories as female colleagues, schools have been told.
Training from the National Governance Association (NGA) tells governors that staff should be given access to the bathroom “available to other members of their newly acquired gender”.
The advice, seen by The Telegraph, goes on to suggest that requiring transgender people to use a disabled toilet instead of making reasonable adjustments “is not lawful or good practice”.
It reads: “Employees who have undergone gender reassignment or who are transgender must be supported to use all toilets and shower facilities which are available to other members of their newly acquired gender.
“Requiring transgendered people to use disabled toilet facilities instead of making reasonable adjustments is not lawful or good practice.”
The NGA is the national membership association for governors, trustees, and governance professionals in England’s state schools and trusts.
More than 80,000 members across 70 per cent of schools and trusts in England access its services, which include advice, training and events.
‘Shocked at this content’
A chair of governors at a secondary academy told The Telegraph: “I decided to take the NGA equality and diversity training today to keep myself up to date.
“I’m shocked at this content that’s part of the slide deck.”
Maya Forstater, the CEO of Sex Matters, a human-rights charity, said the training was “grossly irresponsible” and “deeply disturbing”.
She said: “Nowhere in the Equality Act does it say that men who identify as women have the right to access female toilets, so this is a shocking misrepresentation by the NGA.
“Employers are required by law to provide single-sex toilets unless they are fully enclosed unisex rooms. It is grossly irresponsible for the NGA to tell school governors and trustees otherwise.
“The Equality Act protects transgender people so that they can’t be harassed or discriminated against, such as being denied employment or housing. It doesn’t give them an all-access pass to opposite-sex facilities.
“It is deeply disturbing that school governors are being misinformed by the NGA in a way that breaches the rights of teachers and other staff to basic privacy and dignity.”
In June, the Education Secretary said trans women with penises could use women’s lavatories under Labour’s plans to make gender change easier.
Bridget Phillipson said that a trans woman who had a gender recognition certificate (GRC) “would be using female toilets” if they had not had reassignment surgery.
To obtain a GRC trans people have to receive sign-off by a panel of doctors and lawyers and provide two years of evidence that they have been living in their new gender.
Labour has said it is planning to “simplify” the process, which it has branded “degrading and torturous” for trans people, by downgrading both requirements.
The party has said it would keep the requirement for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria but that this could now be provided by a single clinician.
It would also downgrade the requirement for evidence of a two-year “reflection” period, which could mean a medical diagnosis is all that is needed for a certificate
During the general election campaign, Sir Keir Starmer said transgender women did not have a right to access female-only spaces.
A spokesman for the NGA said: “Our Equality and Diversity: The Equality Act and the Employer module is specifically focused on workplace practices and adult employees’ rights under the Equality Act 2010.
“The guidance provided, including the section on transgender staff using facilities, refers exclusively to adult employees in their workplace.
“This training material is designed to help those who govern understand their legal obligations in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 supporting all employees, including those who are transgender, in the workplace setting.”
A spokesman for the Government said: “Teachers from all backgrounds should feel supported in the workplace.
“The Equality Act allows providers of single-sex services and spaces to restrict their use on the basis of sex and gender reassignment when it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, such as protecting the privacy and dignity of others.
“It is important tthe hat school leaders understand law, which is why the Equality and Human Rights Commission offers guidance on how to apply it, noting the importance of balancing the impact of decisions on all users.”
EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel
