By Hannah Metzger | Westword
Days after a new state law began allowing Colorado students to choose their names at school, an effort to require parental notification for such behavior started petitioning for the November ballot.
Initiative 142 would require that public school staff inform parents if they obtain any information that a student is experiencing “gender incongruence,” defined as a difference between the student’s biological sex and gender identity. If a child uses a different name or pronouns at school — or even if an employee overhears students talking about their gender identity — their parents would have to be notified.
Advocates of the proposed initiative say they started printing petitions last week. They must collect 124,238 signatures by August 5 to qualify for the ballot.
“This is a conversation that we should be a part of and in charge of. We’re the ones who know our children best,” says Lori Gimelshteyn, one of the two mothers behind the initiative. “Really good parents who want nothing more than what is best for their child are being left out of this discussion.”