SENIOR SNP figures were accused of attempting to "water down" a call to make it a legal obligation to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) issues in the school curriculum at the party's conference in Aberdeen this week.
A motion from the party's youth wing calls for "there to be legislation and teacher training to ensure curriculum inclusion, recording of bullying, and monitoring of steps to tackle LGBTI discrimination in all of Scotland's schools".
However, education secretary John Swinney's ministerial aide Jenny Gilruth and senior SNP MSP Christina McKelvie will seek to alter the motion during a debate at the party's two-day conference, which starts on Friday.
An amendment from MSPs Gilruth and McKelvie seeks to replace the call for legislation and instead says the Scottish government should establish a group to work with the Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) campaign and others to "take the necessary steps" on the issue.
The SNP Youth group motion states: "Conference reaffirms its support for the Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) campaign, supports the TIE pledge which calls for legislation and teacher training to ensure curriculum inclusion, recording of bullying and monitoring of steps to tackle LGBTI discrimination in all of Scotland's schools and calls upon the Scottish government to work with TIE to take the necessary future steps."
However, an amendment from Gilruth and McKelvie would replace it with wording that instead "calls upon the Scottish government to establish a group to work with TIE and others to take the necessary steps to make the pledge a reality”.
Scottish Green education spokesperson Ross Greer said senior SNP politicians were softening the calls for a change in the law, and warned the SNP not to "drag its feet" on the issue.
The West of Scotland MSP said: “The Greens have been pressing the Scottish government to provide teacher training on LGBTI+ education and to ensure all homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullying in our schools is recorded as such.
"LGBTI+ young people cannot afford for the government to drag its feet on this. We've given them the opportunity to back the TIE campaign pledges through our questions and proposals in parliament, so it's worrying to see the education secretary’s own parliamentary liaison officer appearing to water down this motion.
"We need to get on with implementing essential measures already backed by a majority of MSPs. We cannot be any clearer with the SNP; the Greens will provide the parliamentary support needed to get these proposals from the TIE campaign passed.”
However, Rhiannon Spear, convenor of SNP Youth, insisted the party was united over its plans to tackle LGBTI discrimination and bullying.
She said: "We are happy with the amendment. The SNP is going to support this."
The Time for Inclusive Education group also said it was content with the SNP government's position.
A TIE spokesperson said: "We are relaxed about the motion that is being debated at the SNP's conference this week."
An SNP spokesperson added: "As the TIE campaign has made clear, it is relaxed about the motion that is being debated at SNP conference."
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