Education body rejects guidance that schools should make ‘effort’ to use trans pupils’ pronouns

Ireland’s education department has rejected guidance which claimed schools must make “every effort” to use – and update systems to reflect – a trans pupil’s pronouns and name, stating instead there is no “legal obligation” to do so.

In December, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), in collaboration with ShoutOut and Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI), published the country’s first-ever guide for trans people on their legal rights.

The 148-page document, entitled Know Your Rights: A Guide for Trans and Non-Binary People, covers trans folks’ rights in Ireland in areas including healthcare, employment, sport and education, with guidance covering topics such as discrimination and harassment, misgendering and use of single-sex spaces.

Within the guidance, it states: “According to Department of Education guidelines, your school must make every effort to update your name and pronoun in relevant systems and documents. It must also use your correct name and pronoun in day-to-day interactions. You should clarify with the school what your preferences are for name and pronoun usage in written communications to your parent(s) or guardian(s).”

However, in a statement to The Irish Times a spokesperson for the Department for Education and Youth said “no guidelines have been issued” in regards to schools correctly referring to trans pupils by their name and pronouns.

Although, whilst the spokesperson did add there is “nothing to preclude” schools from using trans pupils’ pronouns and names, there is there is no legal obligation compelling them to do so.

In a statement, the ICCL stood by the guidance, stating in its “assessment, confirmed by legal advice received while drafting the guide, […] schools must use students’ correct pronouns”.

“ICCL received external, pro bono legal advice,” the statement explained. “This led ICCL to conclude that schools must use a student’s correct name and pronoun in day-to-day interactions.”

This matter comes just months after Catherine Connolly was elected as president of Ireland in a landslide victory, with 63.4 per cent of the vote.

Connolly, who supports same-sex marriage, reproductive rights and legislation to disregard historic offences for consensual sexual activity between men, has vowed to be an “inclusive president for all”.

“I will be a voice for peace, a voice that builds on our policy of neutrality, a voice that articulates the existential threat posed by climate change,” she said.

“Our public and democracy needs constructive questioning. Together, we can shape a new republic that values everybody, that values and champions diversity and that takes confidence in our own identity.”

When asked where she stands on so-called “gender ideology” – an anti-trans dogwhistle used to describe trans rights – she replied: “We need an inclusive society. We don’t need division, we don’t need language to divide.

“I worked as a clinical psychologist, and trained in England. I know the pain and suffering someone goes through when they feel that they’re not in the right gender. I know that’s a painful, painful process and it’s something that I won’t comment on lightly.

“But I will say that, prior to my time and it was a good act, the government passed the Gender Recognition Act, and it’s law that someone can decide to change their gender and register accordingly, over 18 years of age.”

A statement on her website also reads: “I campaigned for marriage equality in Galway and have spoken out in Dáil [the lower house of the Irish parliament] for LGBTQ+ rights abroad and at home, including in support of the Gender Recognition Act and against conversion therapy. Inciting fear and hatred towards the LGBTQIA community is abhorrent.”