LANDMARK reforms on how LGBTI issues are taught in schools will be pushed through after a blueprint was produced by a working group set up by the Government.
The changes, which followed a campaign spearheaded by two equality activists, include relationships, sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) education and an overhaul of how homophobic bullying is recorded.
Ministers are believed to be sympathetic to a package of reforms that were produced by a range of stakeholders including the Catholic Church.
Founded in 2015 by Jordan Daly and Liam Stevenson, the ‘Time for Inclusive Education’ (TIE) campaign was set up to combat homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in schools by calling for LGBT "inclusive” education.
According to critics of the status quo, the support offered in schools for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex pupils is either patchy or non-existent.
The TIE campaign urged MSPs to sign up to its five-point plan, which included a teacher training programme on LGBT issues, a reformed system for recording bullying and provisions relating to RSHP education.
It also called for legislation requiring schools to be proactive in tackling bigotry, as well as better data collection.
A majority of MSPs endorsed the TIE demands and the SNP Government responded by setting up a working group.
The body, which included Mr Stevenson and Mr Daly, as well as representatives from the Catholic Church and the Educational Institute of Scotland, was asked to advise Ministers on the TIE pledges and make recommendations.
Members of the thirteen-strong group are said to have largely backed the TIE pledges, including RSHP education, bullying and ensuring LGBT issues are covered in the curriculum.
It is understood the group issued a report to the Scottish Government recently and Ministers are expected to announce support for the recommendation within weeks.
However, the group has not backed a legislative approach, which paves the way for the reforms to be implemented without a new law.
An SNP source described the recommendations as "world leading".
The report comes nearly 20 years after the Labour-led Scottish Executive faced a backlash for repealing anti-gay legislation relating to schools.
Under the Thatcher Government, local authorities were banned from promoting homosexuality, a policy which was believed to be discriminatory.
The former First Minister, Donald Dewar, described the law as a “badge of shame” and made repeal an early priority for his administration in 2000.
However, SNP donor and businessman Brian Souter opposed the move and funded a private referendum in a bid to halt repeal.
The Daily Record newspaper and the Catholic Church in Scotland, led at that point by Cardinal Winning, were also vocal opponents of Dewar’s policy. MSPs voted by 99 to 17 to abolish the ban.
A TIE spokesperson said: "We are delighted with the suite of recommendations in this report, as agreed upon by the LGBTI Inclusive Education Working Group, and they address the issues raised in our campaign pledge.
"These recommendations will deliver LGBTI-inclusive education in Scottish schools, thus transforming the educational experience for generations of LGBTI young people. We now hope that they will be accepted in full by the Scottish Government."
Green MSP Ross Greer said: “This would be a monumental victory for the TIE campaign, LGBT young people and Scotland as a whole. Jordan, Liam and the team of volunteers at TIE have in just a few years and on a shoestring budget completely transformed the debate around inclusive education and it looks like it’s about to pay off.
"If the recommendations are as robust as is believed and the government commits to implement them in full, they will have the backing of a majority of MSPs and I’m sure of most people across the country. Almost twenty years after Section 28, the long shadow it has cast over our schools is finally set to be consigned to history.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “This report has yet to be published. Ministers will consider its findings carefully before making an announcement in due course.”
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