English universities are scrambling to review policies related to transgender students and staff amid ¡°anxiety¡± over whether they comply with free speech duties after the University of Sussex was hit with a?record fine.

Several institutions appear to have removed documents from their websites in the wake of the Office for Students¡¯ ruling last week,?which found that Sussex failed to uphold its academic freedom obligations when its former professor, Kathleen Stock, was forced to?resign?because of protests over her gender-critical views.

The case ¨C which saw Sussex fined ?585,000 ¨C centred on Sussex¡¯s trans and non-binary equality policy that required academics to ¡°positively represent trans people and trans lives¡± in relevant course materials.

Stock herself has how other universities continue to hold similar policies and the case has seemingly provoked many into staging reviews.

ÍøÆØÃÅ

¡°We¡¯ve certainly had a number of conversations with institutions off the back of the decision,¡± said Smita Jamdar, partner and head of education at Shakespeare Martineau. ¡°The main theme is anxiety that institutions cannot be sure if they are compliant or not.¡±?

Another law firm declined to comment?owing to being in active discussions with universities on the topic.

ÍøÆØÃÅ

In one instance, the University of Leeds has??to say the institution¡¯s trans equality policy is being reviewed in light of the OfS investigation.

Similarly, the University of Essex, which has itself previously?been embroiled in a dispute?over the deplatforming of gender-critical speakers, appears to have??to a policy setting out how the university supports transgender and non-binary staff.??show the policy was live as recently as 21 March ¨C five days before the OfS released its report.?

A university spokesperson said the institution keeps ¡°our policies and guidance under regular review as part of meeting our legal obligations and protecting freedom of speech within the law¡± and that it was currently reviewing some documentation as ¡°part of our agreed review process¡±.

In another example, a number of statements on the University of Exeter¡¯s website related to trans inclusion are also??¨C a change internet archives show was made at some point over the past two months.

While regular reviews of university policies are not uncommon,??the Committee for Academic Freedom has found that multiple universities, including Sussex, appear to have based their equality statements on a??originally created by the Equality Challenge Unit, which was later merged into Advance HE.?

Four specific statements in Sussex¡¯s trans and non-binary equality policy that the OfS found breached the university¡¯s free speech responsibilities appear to have been influenced by this template.?

ÍøÆØÃÅ

These include a statement that ¡°the curriculum shall not rely on or reinforce stereotypical assumptions about trans people¡± and the requirement for ¡°any materials within relevant courses and modules [to] positively represent trans people and trans lives¡±.

Edward Skidelsky, director of the Committee for Academic Freedom, said what he called ¡°obvious¡± copying and pasting showed ¡°a lack of intellectual independence on the part of university managers¡±.

ÍøÆØÃÅ

¡°I think all those policies will be scrapped if they haven¡¯t already because, clearly, if Sussex was in breach of the OfS regulations, all those other universities will be as well.¡±

Skills minister Jacqui Smith recently told the House of Lords that the OfS will be writing to institutions in the wake of its findings to help them ¡°understand their obligations¡±.

A spokesperson for the regulator said it understood that universities were in the process of reviewing policies relevant to its findings. ¡°Where that is the case, we¡¯re keen to engage with institutions and to support their work where we can do that in an appropriate way,¡± they?said, adding that Arif Ahmed, the director of freedom of speech and academic freedom, had met with vice-chancellors this week to answer questions.

Universities UK has called for clarity over whether policies universities have in place that aim to prevent ¡°abusive, bullying and harassing¡± material or speech would be seen as a breach of free speech duties.

Jamdar said that ¡°complaints involving harassment, protected beliefs and freedom of expression were already complicated to handle even before the OfS decision and institutions may feel even less confident navigating the issues now¡±.

The OfS spokesperson said it was?¡°important to emphasise that none of this means providers can¡¯t have policies which set out how they will protect students from harassment ¨C indeed, our new harassment condition will require them to do so¡±.

ÍøÆØÃÅ

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com