By ERIC YOUNG | The Gazette
As more school districts adopt policies to adhere to a new state law regarding students’ chosen names, it’s been far from a simple decision for some in the Pikes Peak region.
With the passage of House Bill 1039 into law last April, all public schools must now implement a written policy outlining how staff will honor a student’s request to use a name different than their legal name. All school personnel must address students and refer to them by these names during school and extracurricular activities.
The new law intends to protect LGBTQ+ students whose chosen names differ from their legal names given at birth and reflect their gender identity. Refusing to do so now constitutes discrimination, and students subjected to it can file a school report, or even a federal civil rights complaint.