Unmitigated stress

Some schools are in breach of the law.

We were prompted to write this template letter after recent reports from teachers describing the considerable pressure they are under to comply with gender ideology in their schools. This template letter can be adapted for use by teachers or parents.

Dear Board of Trustees,

The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) requires employers to provide and maintain a work environment that is without risks to safety and health, including mental health, so far as is reasonably practicable. https://www.worksafe.govt.nz/laws-and-regulations/operational-policy-framework/worksafe-positions/supporting-mentally-healthy-work/

This letter is to signal that our school is not meeting its responsibilities under the HSWA and to request urgent action from the BoT to rectify the matter.

School policies that affirm students’ adopted ‘gender identities’ and expect others to use their ‘preferred pronouns’ is against the most recent best-practice advice for schools and is causing us considerable stress, in breach of the HSWA.

Mental health

As an employer, you are required to provide a workplace that meets health and safety law, including mitigating for stress.

The school social transitioning and preferred pronoun policy is causing us undue stress because we are being forced to participate in a ritual for a belief we do not hold. Many belief systems have rituals – genuflecting, mantras, refrains – that adherents practice to demonstrate their faith. Gender ideology adherents use ‘preferred pronouns’ as a show of faith and demand compliance from everyone, in breach of our freedom of belief and religion that is guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.

Humans cannot change sex and no matter what ‘gender identity’ a student adopts, they remain as the sex in which they were born. Expecting us to affirm a falsehood and then walk on eggshells around a student who demands wrong sex pronouns, in fear of ‘misgendering’, is a stress the school could reasonably remove, simply by having a policy that everyone uses standard English pronouns.

Such a policy would also benefit neurodiverse and second language learners for whom ‘preferred pronouns’ are a minefield of confusion.

Best Practice

The Cass Review is the world’s most comprehensive, systematic review of treatment of gender distress in children and adolescents. It was commissioned by the UK National Health Service and chaired by eminent paediatrician, Dr Hilary Cass. After four years of investigation, including a review of international practice carried out by the University of York, Dr Cass reached the conclusion that there is no justification for social transition and that its long-term effects are unknown. Additionally, Dr Cass stated clearly that teachers are not qualified to make the psychosocial intervention of social transition. More information is here:

We are under daily distress which is seriously affecting our mental health because, despite the robust findings of The Cass Review, we are still being required to follow our school’s flawed and unlawful social transitioning policies.

Under the HSWA, the BoT is required to identify mental health risks and eliminate them from work so far as reasonably practicable. If the risks can’t be eliminated they should be minimised. The mental stress we are being subjected to could easily be minimised if the BoT followed best practice by adopting the recommendations of The Cass Review.

Detailed advice is also provided by The Independent NZ Guidelines on Sex and Gender in Schools, a guide endorsed by Sue Middleton, PhD (Emeritus Professor), Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, who says,

“A school should create space for students to hold options open. And it “should project the attitude that there is no right or wrong way to be a boy or a girl.” 

Bill of Rights Act

As well as breaching the HSWA, our school policy endorsing social transition infringes the right to freedom of belief and expression as guaranteed under the Bill of Rights Act, section 13:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief, including the right to adopt and to hold opinions without interference.”

In response to a query from the Free Speech Union, the Teaching Council CEO, Lesley Hoskins, agreed that teachers do have the right to decline to use preferred pronouns, as long as they do so in a respectful way.

It is obvious that thinking a person can change sex just by saying so is a belief, not a fact. In law, every person is free both to believe or not to believe any idea; every person is free both to participate in the rituals of a belief or not to participate. Sex realists, who know that ‘gender identity’ is no more than a cosmetic change, are protected under the law from having to engage in the rituals of ‘preferred pronouns’, mantras like “transwomen are women”, and flag-waving, and should not be subjected to accusations of ‘transphobia’ if they choose not to participate.  

Schools should be neutral spaces in which no beliefs are officially endorsed and all beliefs are open to critical examination. Even long-standing religions like Christianity, Islam, or Hinduism do not have their rituals enforced in schools. Why is transgenderism getting a free pass? Schools should be fostering critical thinking skills, not shutting down dissent with false claims of ‘transphobia’.

Our request of the BoT

As employees of this school, we request that the intolerable and illegal pressure being placed on all staff and students be removed by upholding a policy of respectful tolerance that does not require staff or students to pretend someone has changed sex. A neutral policy complies with the Bill of Rights Act and allows everyone to hold their own beliefs without privileging one belief over others.

Removing this unjust school policy is a matter of some urgency. We request timely action and reserve the right to escalate our concerns to an employment lawyer if this stressful situation is not promptly and satisfactorily addressed.  

How to use this letter

If you are a teacher, find some other teachers in your school who will co-sign the letter.

If you are a parent, find some other parents in your school who will co-sign the letter.

In both cases, please adapt the letter to add personal and school details.  

Check your school’s gender policies. Lobby for school policies to be based on the most recent best-practice advice, as described in the NZ Schools Guidelines.

Make an appointment for your group to meet with the principal or Board of Trustees to discuss the undue stress you or your children are being placed under by social transitioning practices.

Before the meeting, ensure everyone knows the relevant clauses of the Bill of Rights Act, the Health and Safety at Work Act, and the advice from the Teaching Council.  Read details here: https://www.resistgendereducation.nz/information/law-takes-precedence-over-policy

Read the recommendations of the Cass review regarding social transition (Chapter 12) and the Independent Guidelines for NZ Schools. You may wish to print the relevant sections to give to the principal or BoT.

Always attend appointments in a group to act as witnesses and record the details of the meeting immediately after.

Ask for the school to meet its legal obligations by removing the stress being caused by social transitioning.

Ask for a resolution within 6 weeks and investigate going to an employment lawyer, if you are not satisfied.  

Join the Free Speech Union ($50) so that they can support you, if needed.  

Do you want to be in touch with other teachers who are concerned by gender ideology for advice and support? If so, there is a new support group you may wish to join.

Please email info@resistgendereducation.nz for more information.