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Hundreds of public commenters urge board to revise proposed name-change policy; students and advocates warn of harm
Summary
Dozens of speakers — students, teachers and youth-service advocates — told the District 11 board that requiring parental consent for a student'chosen name would put transgender and gender-nonconforming students at risk. The board directed staff to run a shorter draft by legal counsel and return a revised policy in March.
Colorado Springs School District 11 board members heard more than an hour of public comment on Wednesday about a proposed policy on students'chosen names. Speakers included current and former students, nonprofit youth-service leaders and teachers who urged the board to remove a parental-consent requirement or to revise the policy so it would not "out" students to unsupportive families.
The board heard from Michelangelo Crewson, who identified himself as a junior at Paloma High School and as a transgender man. "I do truly believe that transgender people deserve the same rights and safeties as everyone else," Crewson told the board, describing the cost to students when schools disclose identity information before a student is ready.
The comments came amid debate over a draft District 11 policy labeled ACA that would formalize how the district handles a student's request to be known by a name different from their legal name. The measure is a response to Colorado House Bill 24-1039; the board has been discussing different text and operational guidance since…
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