“I don’t want various strange people going into Polish schools and telling small children that they can choose whether they’re a boy or a girl,” said Sławomir Mentzen yesterday in a conversation with Rafał Trzaskowski. The Civic Platform candidate was outraged by these words, calling them nonsense and adding: “What’s wrong with teaching kids to respect others?” However, a brochure published in cooperation with the municipal Warsaw Center for Educational and Social Innovation and Training (WCIES) refers to “the school as a place of transition.” It also proposes a “list of practices supporting transgender and non-binary students.” These include organizing bathrooms, setting rules for the use of changing rooms and lockers, allowing children to choose their name, pronouns, and signature, as well as enabling school staff to wear rainbow symbols.
During yesterday’s conversation with Mentzen, Rafał Trzaskowski avoided the subject of promoting transsexuality and transition (gender change) in schools. He only spoke of “supporting kids” who allegedly suffer from discrimination.
Yet in 2023, a brochure titled “A Guide for an Open School. Transgender Identity. A Guide for School Staff and Management” was published. The publication was developed and released as part of the project “Transgender Children – An Effective School Support System”, funded by the Active Citizens – National Fund program, financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway through the EEA Grants. The Warsaw Center for Educational and Social Innovation and Training—a municipal institution of the City of Warsaw—served as the project’s (or publication’s) partner organization (the role is not clearly defined).
What can be found in this guide? It is a comprehensive promotion of transsexuality and gender transition. The latter term appears more than 70 times. The publication states:
“Research on the health of transgender and non-binary youth, as well as the experience of those working with such youth, clearly indicates that obstructing transition leads to increased gender dysphoria, which in turn worsens mental health and raises the risk of suicide. In many cases, transition is therefore a life-saving intervention.”
In the guide, using a transgender child’s birth name or referring to them by their assigned gender is labeled as “violence”. Specifically, it states:
“Such violence also includes so-called misgendering, i.e., seemingly accidental but in reality repeated—often intentional—use of pronouns and grammatical forms inconsistent with the person’s gender identity, as well as so-called deadnaming, i.e., using the name assigned at birth, which the student does not identify with and does not wish to use.”
In the chapter titled “School as a Place of Transition”, it is stated that schools can take a range of actions to facilitate the social transition of transgender and non-binary students and permanently build a culture of inclusion for transgender, non-binary, and otherwise diverse individuals.
The authors of the guide also call for the normalization of transgender and non-binary identities:
“NORMALIZE TRANSGENDER AND NON-BINARY IDENTITIES – there are many ways to signal that diversity is OK, that being transgender and non-binary is OK, and that other forms of diversity are also OK. […] For example, a person who uses neutral pronouns such as ‘ono/jego’ might refer to themselves using gender-neutral past tense forms like ‘byłum’ or ‘byłom’ and identify as a ‘student’, ‘female student’, ‘learner’, or in neutral forms like ‘ucznie’ or ‘ucznio’.”
The publication, produced in cooperation with the Warsaw local government institution, also includes a “list of practices supporting transgender and non-binary students.” These practices include:
• including information in the school statute and other documents that support diversity and prohibit exclusion,
• organizing restrooms (e.g., offering access to a separate restroom).
• setting rules for the use of changing rooms and lockers,
• developing procedures for dealing with violations, such as exclusionary treatment of a transgender student,
• allowing students to choose their name and signature (self-identification) and pronouns (eliminating behaviors labeled as deadnaming or misgendering),
• addressing transgender and non-binary individuals in accordance with their preferences,
• allowing staff to wear rainbow symbols, such as pins or stickers.
The role of the Warsaw Student Rights Ombudsman is also described:
“The Ombudsman addresses all forms of discrimination and violations of student rights in schools. In the case of transgender and non-binary individuals, this can include violence and exclusion at school, mental health issues, lack of adequate psychological and pedagogical support, limited access to restrooms that match their gender identity, or lack of freedom to use their chosen name or pronouns. […] According to the order of the Mayor of the Capital City of Warsaw, the Ombudsman’s role also includes recommending appropriate courses of action in cases of student rights violations and manifestations of discrimination, including initiating the development of legal analyses. The Ombudsman offers students and their parents various paths to help them feel safe and ensure their rights are protected. The Ombudsman can expect schools to create remedial action plans to improve the situation of LGBT+ students. They can also propose various supportive actions for students of diverse gender identities, such as:
• Psychological-pedagogical classes within the student’s class;
• Regular discussions during class meetings;
• Expert training sessions for teaching staff provided by WCIES;
• Mediation conducted by specialized personnel;
• Legal counseling.”
Who would conduct these “expert training sessions”?
The brochure lists “POLISH NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS DEALING WITH TRANSGENDER AND NON-BINARY ISSUES, which provide assistance, advice, support interventions, or conduct educational activities to combat discrimination and exclusion in schools.” These include:
• Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH),
• The Trans-Fuzja Foundation (supported by the City of Warsaw),
• Lambda Warsaw Association,
• The “Tolerado” Association for LGBT People (tolerado@tolerado.org),
• The tranzycja.pl project,
• Understanding Transgender Identity (zrozumiectransplciowosc.pl).