Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Policy ACA topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Palmer student tells D11 board proposed name-change clause could put transgender students at risk
Summary
A Palmer High junior urged the District 11 board to remove a sentence in draft policy ACA that would require parental notification of students' chosen or preferred name changes, saying mandatory notification could out vulnerable students and cause harm.
A Palmer High School junior told the Colorado Springs School District 11 board on Wednesday that a draft policy requiring schools to notify parents about students' chosen or preferred name changes could expose transgender students to danger.
"Parents shall be notified of the student's chosen or preferred name change request," Michelangelo Cruzan read from the draft policy and then warned the board that the notification language could out students and put them at risk. Cruzan, who said he is a female-to-male transgender student, told the board he has spoken at the dais before about the same clause and asked the board to either remove the notification requirement or require that students be informed in advance that staff will notify parents.
The concern surfaced again later in public comment when Jackson Hoskinson, school advocate for Inside Out Youth Services, urged the board to prioritize student safety and simplicity in policy ACA. "Colorado law already affirms a student's right to use their chosen name," Hoskinson said, and he warned that mandatory parental notification can place LGBTQ+ youth in unsafe home situations, including homelessness.
Board materials and commenters referenced House Bill 1039 and state law during the discussion; speakers repeatedly asked that the policy make the process for name changes straightforward and centered on student safety rather than creating extra procedural hurdles.
The board did not vote on policy ACA at the Dec. 4 meeting. Public comments on the draft were recorded and the speaker who raised the concern asked the board to reconsider the notification clause before the policy returns to the agenda in a future meeting.
