The English regulator has amended its freedom of speech guidance after it lost a landmark High Court case brought by the University of Sussex, weeks before a new complaints scheme is set to launch.
The Office for Students (OfS) said it had made “minor updates” to the regulatory guidance and amendments to several examples in the guidance following the judge’s ruling, which found the regulator had acted beyond its powers in fining the university for failing to uphold free speech.
The changes also reflect interactions between free speech laws and the European Convention on Human Rights, the regulator said.
One example that was updated focuses on a hypothetical student handbook on misgendering, which states that “misgendering is never acceptable”.
The regulator said a blanket ban on misgendering is likely to breach freedom of speech rules, but notes that there may be some circumstances in which the use of dispreferred pronouns may be restricted under Convention rights. An example given is “permitting repeated and deliberate misgendering directed by a teacher to a particular student”.
