Judicial Review Granted to Christian Parents who Opposed School Trans Pronoun Policy

Nigel and Sally Rowe

Christian parents, Nigel and Sally Rowe, who complained about the trans pronoun policy of their daughter’s school have been granted a judicial review.

Since the legal process began three months ago, this will be the first time that the United Kingdom’s High Court will carry out a judicial review on the basis of alleged harm that transgender policies may have on primary school children.

According to the parents, they were compelled to withdraw their son out of the school, which is run by a church, due to the policies which required classmates and teachers to use the preferred names and pronouns of trans-identified students.

Initially, the Department for Education did not agree to step into their case but the parents persisted till the U.K. High Court, Queen’s Bench Division, decided to review their case. Lord Justice Lane, who allowed the reviewing of the case, said that it is reviewable because it concerns education which is a state’s responsibility.

The couple are also using this medium to canvass for Christian beliefs as regards gender to be managed and respected in state education. Consequently, they seek for the removal of the 2015 Cornwall Schools Transgender Guidance. 

The Rowes said that when children in their son’s Church of England primary school in the Isle of Wright started cross dressing in 2017, they were given the option of agreeing to transgender beliefs or get tagged as “transphobic.” The couple holds the notion that it is destructive for children to affirm gender identity.

Moreover, the couple felt they had to home-school their child when their child’s school told them in a letter dated July 2017 that not affirming students' preferred pronouns and names is a form of “transphobic behavior.” 

Christian Legal Centre, the representative of Nigel and Sally Rowe, said in a statement on behalf of the couple: “We are delighted and relieved that after a four-year battle our crucial case will be heard.”

“Many try to make light of this issue by suggesting it is just about boys dressing up. This case is about a dangerous ideology that is now firmly embedded in schools, local authorities, and Church of England leadership, and which is causing serious long-term harm to thousands of children.”

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