men serving in primary FAQ updated?

[heidiparker]

I read the following in the frequently asked questions about men serving as teachers in primary. As stake primary leaders, we have been instructing that all classes need to have 2 responsible adults, two men, 2 women, or a married couple, but I see that in small branches, they can still have only one leader, as long as they are being checked on? Has this been updated since the policy on preventing abuse, with 2 responsible adults? We have a couple of branches in our stake that are shorthanded. We have instructed them to combine, or have an additional person at the partition so they can view both classes.

When men are assigned to teach children, at least two responsible adults should be present at all times. The two adults could be two men, a husband and wife, or two members of the same family. In small branches, if it is not practical to have two teachers in a classroom, a member of the Primary presidency frequently visits and monitors each class that a man teaches alone. (See Handbook 2, 11.8.1.)

[BrianEdwards]

As far as I know, HB2 (online) is current with regards to the most-recent changes. I also believe that no differentiation is now being made between men and women, so that the bolded reference you shared would now not say anything about "a man teaches alone", but rather something like "a member teaches alone" (11.8.1 online doesn't have this wording anymore, not certain if it was moved elsewhere in the handbook). But others may know better about this!

In HB2 11.8.8, should is used twice. So my interpretation is that this corresponds to the flexibility allowed for small Branches. Combined classes are preferred as opposed to separate classes taught by a single teacher, since the two-deep policy is very strongly emphasized. But with Bishop/Branch President approval and appropriate monitoring, it appears very limited exceptions may occur.

[sbradshaw]

Make sure you're using the latest version of the Handbook, which is the version online and in the Gospel Library app.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/stu ... y?lang=eng

The quote in the original post above appears to be from an older version.