Late last year, Harpeth Hall school in Nashville, Tennessee implemented policies that allowed any student, including biological males who identify as female, to apply. Following backlash, the school reversed its decision on the policy.
“We recognize that this philosophy elicited strong reactions of support and oppositions beyond our expectations. We care deeply about your feedback and we have heard you. The Harpeth Hall Board of Trustees is choosing to pause the adoptions of the philosophy in order to engage a wider audience in continued discussion,” the school said in a statement after the decision was reversed.
Reportedly, many alums of the school were against the policy, which led to its reversal.
Soon, single-sex schools in the United Kingdom will be permitted to refuse transgender students under new guidelines from Rishi Sunak’s government.
Single-sex schools in the United Kingdom will be permitted to refuse transgender students under new guidelines from Rishi Sunak’s government.
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According to The Independent, headmasters of all-female schools will be told that they can reject “transgender” students who are biological males that identify as women. And, all-male schools will be able to reject biological females who identify as men.
The guidance will also protect schools from lawsuits for not admitting students who are transgender and “socially transitioning,” which includes dressing as the opposite gender and going by a chosen name and preferred pronouns (via The Independent):
A Department for Education (DfE) source told The Telegraph: “Single-sex schools can refuse to admit pupils of the other legal sex regardless of whether the child is questioning their gender.”Philip Reed, a lawyer at Withersworldwide, told the newspaper it “would be impossible to rule out” a legal case under existing guidelines if a school refused to admit a trans-identified pupil “given the current lack of clarity”.
Schools leaders will reportedly be protected from legal action if they reject demands by pupils who are “socially transitioning” – in the process of adopting the name, clothing and haircuts of their preferred identity – to use different pronouns.
The DfE document will reportedly outline how schools should be dealing with transgender students. Students who identify as a gender that does not align with their biological sex will not be able to share changing rooms or showers with the opposite sex.
Last month, Townhall reported how students at the all-female Wellesley College in Massachusetts voted to allow “transgender” and “non-binary” to apply to attend the school. Wellesley President Paul A. Johnson came out opposing the referendum and said that the vote would not impact the school’s policies.