District 11 board adopts name-change policy after heated public comment; administration directed to inform students before notifying parents

The Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education voted to adopt policy ACA, governing student name changes and related procedures, after extensive public comment both for and against the measure. The board adopted the policy as presented; during debate several board members requested that district procedures make clear that students be notified before parents are contacted when a name-change request is processed.

Director Jorgensen moved to adopt policy ACA, "name changes," and the motion was seconded. The board conducted discussion, received public comment from more than a dozen speakers and then approved the motion by roll call.

The public-comment period included students, district staff, community advocates and parents. Taylor Morrison, a graduating senior at Coronado High School, spoke in support of affirming school policies and said, "...here I stand, queer and trans and unashamed," urging the board to reject any policy that would force outing. Jackson Hoskinson, school advocate with Inside Out Youth Services, urged the district to permit use of chosen names and pronouns and said, "Using a student's chosen name and pronouns reduces the risk of suicide by around 50 percent." Several other speakers, including Devin Chitrone, a transgender woman and Doherty graduate, described personal harm tied to forced outing and asked the board to amend the policy to prioritize student safety.

Opponents urged a parental-consent requirement. Joseph Shelton, a school board candidate, asked the board to return the draft to committee with a requirement that "If a parent must be notified, the student must be told first by the principal, assistant principal, or the individual making the contact." Several community members, including Maria Bergman and Abigail Bergman, urged the board to include parental consent in the policy to protect family involvement in decisions.

Board debate acknowledged the tension between student privacy and parent partnership. Director Bankes, director Malpakam and Director Hafely expressed the view that parents should be notified and that the board must preserve parental partnership under policy AKB. Director Ott and other board members emphasized student safety and opposed inserting additional barriers for students seeking chosen names or pronouns; Ott said she would vote no on the policy as written and criticized the measure for creating a barrier to affirming students.

The board ultimately adopted policy ACA at the regular meeting. Director Jorgensen moved adoption. (Second spoken on the record; record does not identify the seconder by name in the transcript.) A roll-call vote was taken and the motion carried with the board voting in favor.

Although the policy as adopted remained in the form presented to the board, members gave clear direction to Superintendent Gull and staff to develop the implementing regulation and standard operating procedures so that students are informed before the district contacts parents about a requested name change. Administration said it will draft the procedures and return them to the board in a work session for review.

The policy was adopted in the context of state requirements: board members and the public referenced House Bill 1039 (state law requiring school-district policies on name changes and related procedures) and federal Office for Civil Rights guidance that districts discussed separately. Legal counsel for the district indicated the board had consulted counsel during the process.

Superintendent Gull said administration will build regulations and staff training, and the board asked that the district return with a standard operating procedure at the next work session for formal review. The board also heard extensive public testimony during the meeting and did not adopt any immediate amendments to the policy on the floor.