The Department of Education on Pronouns in Schools:
There’s been much commentary in recent days on the ‘Trans Rights Guide’ released by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL); Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI); and LGBTQ+ youth organisation, ShoutOut, in December, but one major player has been mysteriously silent: the Government.
The aspect of the guide generating the most discussion, courtesy of an Irish Times article on Friday homing in on the topic, is its guidance concerning students’ rights and schools’ responsibilities, and the briefest glance at what it has to say makes clear why that’s so.
Despite the disclaimer on every page of the guide advising that “this guide is for your information only. It is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice,” on page 125, it states in no uncertain terms that “your school must make every effort to update your name and pronoun in relevant systems and documents,” and additionally, that it “must also use your correct name and pronoun in day-to-day interactions”.
So, the buck ultimately stopping there, I sent the Department of Education and Youth a couple of queries in relation to this.
I asked first and foremost if the Department could confirm that that is indeed the case, that schools “must” make every effort to update a student’s name and pronoun in systems and documents, as well as whether they’re required to use a preferred name and pronoun.
I additionally asked whether schools that take an “affirmative approach” (i.e. that use students’ preferred names and pronouns, as opposed to their given or registered names/pronouns) have a requirement to notify the child’s parent(s)/guardian that that’s the case.
A spokesperson for the Department began by saying that schools are “required to create safe and inclusive environments for students, as outlined in the Bí Cineálta procedures where they experience a sense of belonging and feel safe, connected and supported,” adding that the implementation of the Bí Cineálta anti-bullying procedures got underway at the beginning of the current 2025/2026 school year.
The Bí Cineálta procedures are centred on a “child rights-based approach,” [bold added for emphasis] but it seems that the main resource guiding the Department’s view of the matter is the 2016 document published for post-primary schools, Being LGBT in School.
Published by the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) with the support of the then-Department of Education and Skills’, it provides assistance to schools in designing their policies that touch on issues relating to gender identity and/or sexuality.
“It provides guidance to support key individuals as they fulfil their responsibilities in ensuring that their school is safe, supportive and affirming of all students,” the spokesperson for the Department said [bold added for emphasis].
Explaining the Department’s approach to the use of preferred names and pronouns in schools, the spokesperson cited the 2016 resource, saying that there “there is nothing to preclude a school from using a student’s preferred name in day-to-day interactions, regardless of the name used officially on the school register”.
“All decisions should be taken with the welfare of the student as the primary consideration and, where possible, in consultation with the parents/guardians of the student,” they said [bold added for emphasis].
The reason I’ve repeatedly emboldened fragments of the spokesperson’s response is because, as is not unusual of Government departments, they’ve danced around the edges of my questions, answering them in the most tangential manner possible. The lines in bold get to the heart of the Department’s attitude to preferred names and pronouns.
The Department’s “child rights-based,” affirmative approach that takes the student’s welfare as its primary consideration, indicates that parents’ preferences for their children are secondary to the child’s preferences, an interpretation perhaps supported by the phrasing that parents/guardians should be consulted “where possible”.
Towards the end of their correspondence, the spokesperson referred back to the 2016 document, quoting three different segments that guide its thinking:
“That it is good practice to take time with the student, and his/her parents/guardians, to find the right solutions for their particular context” (Being LGBT in School, page 17)
“In general, it is extremely important to ensure that the correct gender, name and pronoun are used to address transgender or intersex people” (Being LGBT in School, page 18)
“There is nothing to preclude a school from using a student’s preferred name in day to day interactions, regardless of the name used officially on the school register” (Being LGBT in School, page 20, in relation to official school documentation)
They added, further leaning on the same document, that a school “may change the name of a student on the Post-Primary Online Database (P-Pod),” and that for students in a state examination year, “it may be necessary for the principal to contact the State Examinations Commission (SEC) to request a name change on his/her behalf in order that the state examination certificate that is issued reflects the preferred name of the student”.
All of which, it should be noted, is a far cry from the suggestion of obligation implied by the ICCL’s new rights guide, which if you’ll recall, said schools “must” use preferred names and pronouns, in daily interactions and official documentation.
