Nicknames Restricted In Orange County Schools In The U.S.A. As Florida’s Anti-Trans Laws Take Effect
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In the U.S.A. the Orange County Public Schools system now requires a permission slip signed by a parent for students to go by any name other than their legal one, including nicknames and the chosen names of trans students.
In a memorandum sent to county school principals and other administrators, OCPS attached an official parental authorisation form that it said has to be used for “all deviations” from a student's legal name, according to ‘WTSP’.
“As an example, if the student is named Robert, but likes to be called the nickname Rob, the form must be filled out authorising teachers and other personnel to call Robert the nickname Rob,” the memorandum said.
The guidance specified that a parent could use the form to authorise teachers to call their trans child by their chosen name.
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“However,” the form said, “while the teacher and other personnel would utilize the name Roberta when requested by the parent, under the recently adopted House Bill 1069, the teacher or other personnel may elect not to utilize the pronoun “she/her” when referring to Roberta.”
House Bill 1069, which passed in May 2023, stipulates that public school staffers and students are not required to refer to transgender people by their preferred names or pronouns. It also restricts discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in public classrooms through eighth grade, and it states that gender is determined by genitalia “present at birth”.
The bill was an expansion of the Parental Rights in Education law, also known as ‘Don’t Say Gay’ by critics who say it marginalises LGBTQ+ people and their presence in society and opens the door for other states to pass laws targeting trans people and other marginalised groups.
A similar rule to HB 1069 is advancing through the state legislature in Louisiana, requiring parental permission for teachers to call students by their preferred names or pronouns. Indiana is also advancing a similar bill, requiring teachers to inform the parents of any student who asks to be called by a different name or pronoun. Iowa has its own “parental rights” law restricting discussions of LGBTQ+ content and the use of preferred names already on the books.
Orange County Public Schools will begin the 2023-2024 school year on Aug. 10 with the new guidance in effect, along with additional guidance penalising students for using group restrooms that don't align with their gender assigned at birth.
Read related myGwork articles here:
Florida Becomes 8th US State To Enact Anti-Trans Sports Ban This Year
U.S.A. Appeals Court Upholds Florida High School’s Trans Bathroom Ban
Florida Vote To Force Trans Youth To De-Transition With New Medical Ban
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