3.2 ENSURING A BIAS-FREE EDUCATION SYSTEM 100. The Commissioner is concerned about negative stereotyping of LGBTI in schools and the education system. According to a study by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), the interviewed public officials and professionals reported that offensive language towards LGBTI persons and prejudiced attitudes were common in Latvian schools.89 The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern about the lack of official information on discrimination faced by LGBTI children as well as about reported incidents of bullying against those children in schools, and recommended Latvia to strengthen its efforts to combat negative attitudes and eliminate discrimination against LGBTI children.90 101. Civil society interlocutors expressed particular concern that homophobic bias affects policy planning, including as regards the education process. They also pointed out the lack of positive measures to provide objective information with respect to sexual orientation and gender identity in school curricula and educational materials, and inadequate access to information on sexual and reproductive health and rights. In this respect, particular reference was made to the amendment to the Education Law adopted on 18 June 2015, prescribing “morality education” in line with the values enshrined in the Constitution, especially as concerns family and marriage. The amendments also prescribed that educational establishments (except those at higher level) protect students from information and educational methodologies which did not conform to the development of virtuousness and moral standards of schooling.91 Subsequent to the changes, on 15 July 2016 the government approved a regulation on general policy guidelines in this area.92 102. Latvia-based and international NGOs asserted that the amendments mirrored laws banning “gay propaganda”,93 thereby signifying a setback to equal treatment policies, and a possible restriction on children’s access to sex and sexuality education.94 The Commissioner was also informed that while some NGOs were consulted in the drafting of the guidelines, the process was not entirely inclusive as regards LGBTI organisations. Whereas the guidelines do contain a non-discrimination clause, some interlocutors criticised the absence of explicit guarantees against discrimination based on sexual orientation and, in light of the current social climate, felt that this could potentially lead to arbitrary interpretations of the notion of “morality”, and adversely affect efforts to introduce LGBTI rights into the education process. The Commissioner also received concerns that the guidelines compromised the autonomy of educators by placing restrictions on their freedom to provide information on sexual orientation and gender identity. 103. The Commissioner raised the above concerns with his government interlocutors, in particular officials at the Ministry of Education, who affirmed their policy of respecting the autonomy of educators, and maintained that the amendments should not be interpreted as placing undue restrictions upon the education process. 104. The Commissioner would like to recall that as a matter of principle, educational polices and materials should be human rights compliant, promote diversity and exclude discriminatory and degrading content regarding gender equality and LGBTI persons. In this regard, it should be underlined that the 2012 FRA survey of LGBT persons in Latvia found that 52% of respondents strongly agreed that measures implemented at school to respect LGBT persons would allow for more comfortable living as an LGBT person.95 The Commissioner therefore calls on the authorities to develop age-appropriate educational programmes, including on sexual and reproductive health and rights, to overcome prejudices in society, promote equality, and counter homophobic and transphobic stereotypes. 89 Professionally speaking: challenges to achieving equality for LGBT people, FRA 2016. 90 Committee on the Rights of the Child: Concluding observations on the third to fifth periodic reports of Latvia, 14 March 2016. 91 Amendments to the Education Law, Riga, 2 July 2015. 92 Regulation N 480, Cabinet of Minister, Riga 15 July 2016. 93 ILGA-Europe 19 June 2015. 94 Dispatches: Double Speak in Latvia, Human Rights Watch, 23 June 2015. See also Amnesty International Annual Report, Latvia 2015/2016. 95 LGBT Survey 2012, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). 22