PRISM: Human Rights issues relating to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) in Aotearoa New Zealand - A report with recommendations gender identity.299 All school staff, including the principal, teachers, administrators, and coaches, have a responsibility to foster belonging for all students, including those with a diverse SOGIESC.300 While some schools have made laudable inroads in creating inclusive spaces,301 many do not offer such an environment. Remaining barriers include school uniforms, gender segregation, gendered bathrooms, and recognition of students’ identities, as well as inadequate policies and procedures around bullying, discrimination, and language use. Many schools have gendered uniforms which may make life more difficult for trans students and limit their ability to socially transition. Gendered bathrooms were identified as an issue of concern for trans youth by hui participants.302 These issues become heightened for trans students attending a singlesex school. The ability to easily amend the sex marker on a birth certificate through an administrative process would be significant for transgender children and young people, as they are required to show a birth certificate when enrolling in a school.303 The Ministry of Education uses the name and sex from a birth certificate to record a student in the Ministry’s and school’s systems. While the Ministry’s system only offers binary gender options, they are able to update a trans student’s name and gender without requiring a new birth certificate, and are able to support schools to do the same.304 A trans student’s preferred name should be used at all times, including on academic records and in formal communication, regardless of whether the student has changed the name on their birth certificate.305 The safety, sense of being, and privacy of trans students is Safety was a theme found in the youth who completed the Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s What Makes A Good Life survey in 2019.306 Of the 5,631 children and young people who completed the online survey, 10% (540) identified as having a diverse SOGIESC. This group were more likely than the overall group to mention safety and the need for safe spaces to explore identity. They raised issues of correct pronoun usage, access to gender-neutral toilets, and educating the public about SOGIESC issues. This group also frequently mentioned online bullying, discrimination, and exclusion. They spoke about others making assumptions about them because of their sexuality, and some said they were excluded by binary pronouns. Ongoing professional development for teachers Teachers and coaches are often not trained in regard to students with diversity in SOGIESC and can unintentionally cause harm.307 Recent analysis of the Youth’12 survey data recommended three areas to focus on to increase academic success among students with a diverse sexual orientation and gender identity: strong professional development for teachers, enabling those teachers to incorporate SOGIESC topics into lessons, and ensuring that policy environments are safe for all students (extending to school John Fenaughty, Mathijs Lucassen, Terryann Clark, & Simon Denny “Factors associated with academic achievement for sexual and gender minority and heterosexual cisgender students: Implications from a nationally representative study” (2019) 48 Journal of Youth and Adolescence p1883. 300 New Zealand Post-Primary Teachers Association “Affirming diversity of sexualities and gender identities in the school community: Guidelines for principals, boards of trustees and teachers” (May 2017) <www.ppta.org.nz>. 301 Lee Kenny “Gender neutral uniforms and toilets, care around pronouns; how schools are embracing gender diversity” Stuff (New Zealand, 11 August 2019); Tom Kitchin “Transgender student gets backing to stay at all-boys Christ’s College as a female” Stuff (New Zealand, 27 June 2019); Shannon Power “A girls [sic] school in New Zealand is helping students to transition” Gay Star News (London, 13 November 2017). 302 Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch stakeholder engagement meeting notes are publicly available. See New Zealand Human Rights Commission “Universal Periodic Review” <https://www.hrc.co.nz/international-reporting/universal-periodic-review/>. 303 Ministry of Education “Enrolling and starting your child at school” (13 December 2019) <https://parents.education.govt.nz/>. 304 C. Ruru, personal communication to T. Polkinghorne, October 14 2019 305 New Zealand Human Rights Commission Trans people fact sheet A (Wellington, 2008). 306 Children’s Commissioner and Ministry for Children What makes a good life? Children and young people’s views on wellbeing (Wellington, 2019). 307 Catherine Edmunds “Gender and sexuality diverse student inclusive practices: Challenges facing educators” (2016) 2 Journal of Initial Teacher Inquiry p36. 299 50 paramount, and only the school principal, school counsellor, and a trans student’s teachers should be aware of a trans student’s gender identity. It is not appropriate for a school to disclose a trans student’s gender identity to other students and their families, except with the trans student’s permission.