Final Rules for British Teachers Modified After Religious Objections To Diversity Standards

On Wednesday, the General Teaching Council for England announced the adoption of a new Code of Conduct and Practice for Registered Teachers. It contains 8 principles aimed at helping children learn and promoting cooperation with other professionals and parents. The original draft of the Code published for comment last November drew objections from Christian and other religious groups that argued the mandate to "promote equality and value diversity" would require teachers to promote homosexuality in violation of their religious beliefs. (See prior posting.) Substantial changes in response to these concerns were made in the final draft. According to yesterday's Guardian, "the new version of the code ... has been radically reworded to take out requirements to 'promote' diversity. Teachers no longer have to 'proactively challenge' discrimination and are instead simply required to address it...."