Trans teachers have the right to ask to be called Mx rather than Mr or Mrs, the Education Secretary has said. Bridget Phillipson said they “can make that request” if they did not identify as either male or female.
She told LBC: “I think teachers can make that request. But of course, what we’ll be looking at is making sure that people are able to exercise their views on this topic too.
“This has been the subject of various legal cases as well about people’s rights in terms of how they approach questions of gender identity. We’ll consider all areas of the practical guidance that schools need, and [respond] to the challenges that they tell us they’ve faced.”
The prefix Mx is used by some people as a gender-neutral title.
Ms Phillipson was also unable to say when the long-awaited transgender guidance for schools would finally be published.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission is expected to issue new guidance in response to a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the 2010 Equality Act “refer to a biological woman and biological sex”.
Asked when guidance for schools may be published, Ms Phillipson said: “So the last government was consulting on this at the point of the election. That consultation concluded and we had to look at all of those responses.
“But also what happened subsequently was Dr Hilary Cass published her final review around gender-questioning children.
“So I think it is important, given the sensitivity of this area, that we make sure that the guidance we publish is aligned fully with Dr Cass’s recommendations. And I do think it’s important we take the time to get this right.”
A Department for Education spokesman said: “While teachers can make such requests, the Education Secretary was clear it’s not something that they can insist on. Teachers and pupils should be treated with respect.”
