Students could be expelled for ‘misgendering’ peers by using ‘wrong’ name or pronoun under Oxford college’s new policy

Oxford University's Regent's Park College recently released a statement explaining the school's new disciplinary action policy for students accused of "misgendering" their peers, Fox News Digital reported.

Regent's Park College, which specializes in the Arts and Humanities, is one of 44 colleges within Oxford University.

On Thursday, the school published a "Trans Inclusion Statement." The new policy explains that it is considered bullying or harassment to "misgender" transgender or non-binary-identifying individuals by referring to them by their birth name or biological pronouns.

"Regent's Park College recognises that there can be differences between assigned sex and gender identity expression," the school's statement reads. "Where this statement refers to 'trans people', it has in mind people living with any of these identities. When it refers to 'gender identity', it covers the genders (fixed or fluid) of those who do and do not identify with the sex of their birth."

"Transphobic harassment or bullying" is against the school's policy and the U.K.'s Equality Act of 2010, an anti-discrimination law that protects individuals from unlawful treatment based on age, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, and religious beliefs.

"Any unlawful discriminatory behaviour, including transphobic harassment or bullying of by individuals or groups, will be regarded extremely seriously and could be grounds for disciplinary action, which may include expulsion or dismissal," the statement continues. "Such behaviour will be dealt with under the College's Policy on Harassment and Bullying and within the relevant legislation The Equality Act 2010."

The school's statement, crafted with the help of students, says that individuals who do "not conform to binary gender norms" may experience more harassment than those who "successfully 'pass' as male or female."

"Persistently misgendering an individual with the wrong name or pronoun, and claiming to have done so accidentally, might be experienced as harassment by the person concerned," the statement continues. "People who are perceived to be transgender, including those who are intersex, are protected from bullying and harassment, whether or not the perception is true."

The school forbids students from engaging in any "inappropriate behaviors towards trans people," including "making jokes," "denying or disputing" a person's transgender identity, "unduly intrusive or personal questioning," "deadnaming," or refusing to "treat a person in accordance with their affirmed identity."

The statement adds that all alleged infractions of the school's policy will be investigated on a case-by-case basis.

Regent's Park College did not respond to a request for comment, Fox News Digital reported.

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