Scottish gender ruling prompts new legal challenge to school and prison policies

For Women Scotland argues that guidance on transgender pupils and prison policy breach the Supreme Court ruling that defines sex as biological.

Scottish gender ruling prompts new legal challenge to school and prison policies

A campaign group that won a landmark April ruling has opened a fresh legal front in Scotland. The UK Supreme Court decision said the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological woman and biological sex. Four months later, For Women Scotland has filed an ordinary action at the Court of Session, challenging Holyrood's guidance on transgender pupils in schools and the Scottish Prison Service policy on managing transgender people in custody. The group argues the policies are inconsistent with the ruling and should be judged unlawful. Ministers say it would be inappropriate to comment on live court proceedings and note the government has 21 days to respond to the summons.

Details of the policies show the friction at stake. Guidance for single sex toilets in schools says pupils should, where possible, use the facilities they feel most comfortable with. In prisons, a transgender woman can be admitted to the women’s estate if she meets violence against women and girls criteria and is not deemed an unacceptable risk to others. FWS is seeking a declarator that the guidance and policy are unlawful and requests suspension while the case proceeds.

This dispute tests how Scotland translates a high court decision into everyday policy. It pits the aim to protect women and girls in single-sex spaces against the rights claims of transgender people, a balance with no easy answer. A ruling in FWS’s favour could push the government to rewrite guidance quickly; a defeat might embolden activists who seek broader changes to policy.

Beyond the court room, the case highlights how policy work in sensitive areas can become a political issue. The government must manage a public conversation while legal rules are tested, and any outcome could influence funding, training, and how institutions handle disputes in schools and custody.

Highlights

Policy clarity will shape how this debate moves from courtrooms into classrooms and custody blocks.