Bethlehem College. Photo / NZME
A charity has offered to work with Bethlehem College to develop what it believes will be "appropriate, inclusive school policies" for rainbow students.
The offer comes after a leaked working document outlining the school's stance on gender featured in a Bay of Plenty Times article this week.
target="_blank">The document stated that "the biological sex of a person is determined at conception to be male or female and their gender identity should align with their biological sex".
It also comes as the school says it will discipline students found to have thrown half-eaten fruit and made derogatory and threatening comments at students involved in a silent protest against bullying last Friday. However, the "vast majority of students" behaved responsibly.
The gender working document states that by agreeing to support the Statement of Special Character, students needed to adhere to practices according to their biological sex, and staff needed to ensure the practices were maintained.
This included using specific pronouns such as "his" or "her", and if a student wished to use a name at school other than their legal name, "it must be a name that the college reasonably considers aligns with their biological sex".
It also included the separate use of male or female toilet facilities or single cubicles, separate male and female accommodation, wearing male and female uniforms and associated uniform policies and regulations, and male and female sports teams.
A charity that supports rainbow youth has raised concerns for the wellbeing of rainbow students at the school, and an expert has stated studies have found trans and non-binary people able to use their chosen name were "significantly less likely to report depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts".
InsideOUT managing director Tabby Besley was "shocked and devastated" to see the statement around gender which, in her view, needed to "go as soon as possible".
The New Zealand charity worked with the Ministry of Education to produce resources on how Christian schools could create rainbow-inclusive environments while maintaining special character.
She said under the Education and Training Act schools were responsible for providing a school that was free of discrimination and supported the wellbeing of students.
Besley said, in her opinion, Bethlehem College was not doing that for rainbow students.
''There are real consequences when young people aren't in supportive environments.''
She believed the school was ''not treating transgender students with respect".
She urged the school to work with InsideOUT to develop what she believed would be "appropriate, inclusive school policies" for rainbow students, saying, in her view, it was extremely important to respect students' chosen names, pronouns and uniform choices.
"We know for rainbow - particularly trans young people - generally across the board have a harder time at school and face more bullying and discrimination in New Zealand."
Besley said, in her view, the school was making the problem worse.
She was alarmed by the school's focus on medical transition in the working document.
University of Waikato psychology senior lecturer and Trans Health Research Lab director Jaimie Veale said studies found trans and non-binary people able to use their chosen name were "significantly less likely to report depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts".
She said research, such as the Youth'19 study - a representative study of secondary school students in Aotearoa New Zealand - found that trans and gender diverse students were less likely to feel part of school and had "serious mental health inequities".
The study found trans and non-binary students were more than twice as likely to report depressive symptoms, self-harm, and over four times more likely to report attempting suicide.
She led research in Canada into trans and non-binary youth who reported high levels of discrimination, harassment, and violence, as well as low levels of family and school connectedness.
These youth had a 68 per cent probability of reporting extreme levels of feeling "discouraged or hopeless, or had so many problems you wondered if anything was worthwhile", she said.
The comments made by Besley and Veale were put to Bethlehem College for a right of reply.
The board chair, Paul Shakes, referred the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend to a statement the school released on Thursday in response to the leaked working document.
In the statement, Shakes said the working document was created by Bethlehem College Ltd, the school's proprietor, which guided the assessment of the school's special character.
The school acknowledged "that questions around gender and identity are really difficult and sensitive ... Our heart goes out to those experiencing them".
"Gender identity has been an intense recent focus in our society, and we've been wrestling with questions around how to provide the greatest level of care and protection possible for students experiencing these questions."
Shakes said it considered its beliefs and the "relevant research" and it believed "we find our true identity in God".
"Is it caring to affirm to children they're the opposite gender to their biological sex? Would this be providing the highest level of care and protection possible for our students?"
It acknowledged and "respected" others had a different view of identity, "but we don't believe people get a 'randomly assigned' body at birth", Shakes said.
"We're concerned it's not wise or kind to support children down a path of experimental hormonal and surgical medical interventions."
Shakes said the school "fully" accepted that not every family or student in the school community aligned with all its beliefs.
He said the school respected this and asked that its views were also respected.
"We believe God's good purposes for us include our personal and physical design as male and female, and we believe that is, including from a scientific perspective, a perfectly reasonable belief to hold."
Shakes said the school took its duty to provide every child with the "greatest level of care and protection" seriously and had a duty and legal responsibility to maintain its special character.
Ministry of Education Te Tai Whenua (central) hautu (leader) Jocelyn Mikaere said the working document would be part of "ongoing discussions with the school board to ensure it is meeting its legal obligations under the Education and Training Act".
"Under s127 of the Education and Training Act 2020 school boards are required to be inclusive of, and cater for, students with differing needs."
The ministry declined to comment when asked if the document constituted a breach of the act or not, why, what the consequences were, and what the ministry's view was.
It said any concerns raised about student safety and wellbeing were taken "extremely seriously".
Meanwhile, following last Friday's protest, Shakes said the school has shared CCTV footage with police investigating a complaint relating to the behaviour at the protest held by 17 students in the centrum, where about 100 other students were nearby.
He said the college's investigation found a student shouted an insult at the protesters and another repeated it, but there was "no chanting against the protest".
A tossed half-eaten apple hit a protester's bag, and a banana hit the back of a protester's head.
Two students made derogatory comments online towards the protest group and one was "threatening - asking a question around shooting animals".
"Disciplinary processes" would include "appropriate consequences, referrals to counselling, restorative meetings and conversations".
If it is an emergency and you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
For counselling and support
Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP)
Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)
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For more information and support, talk to your local doctor, hauora, community mental health team, or counselling service. The Mental Health Foundation has more helplines and service contacts on its website.
