Canadian province backs parental rights on social transitioning in school

Parents should be consulted on social transitioning for under-16s, a Canadian province has decided.

New Brunswick has rolled back controversial legislation that forced schools to allow students under the age of 16 to officially self-ID their gender without parental permission.

In May, a poll for think tank SecondStreet.org found that 57 per cent of Canadians surveyed agreed schools should tell parents if their child wished to change gender or pronouns.

‘Consent’

Policy 713 – effective in New Brunswick since 1 July – states that under-16s “will require parental consent in order for their preferred first name to be officially used for record keeping purposes and daily management”.

Education Minister Bill Hogan said the province’s improved Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity policy reflected “the role parents play in their child’s life and education”.

But Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticised trying to involve parents, claiming: “trans kids in New Brunswick are being told they don’t have the right to be their true self”.

In the dark

In the UK, Bayswater Support, which represents parents with gender-confused children, has reported that hundreds of parents have been in touch complaining that schools are helping to socially transition their children without their knowledge.

One mother told the Daily Mail that she only found out through a friend that her then 14-year-old daughter’s school was referring to her as a boy.

Another mother came across a note from her daughter’s teacher addressing her as a boy. The school said it has “socially transitioned” her daughter in line with its Equality, Inclusion and Diversity policy.

A Bayswater spokeswoman said: “Parents tell us that when they try to engage constructively with schools, it is often implied that they are a risk to their own children.”