GMSD’s recently passed changes to Policy 6.203 prohibit employees from referring to students by a name other than that in their Skyward Family Access profile. The new policy requires a formal parental request through Skyward for the simple act of school employees referring to students by a nickname or preferred name.

This new policy will be incredibly detrimental towards GMSD’s transgender student population. Many transgender students prefer to go by a name other than their legal birth name. A legal name which is not one’s preferred name is often associated with deep emotional traumas, and referring to a GMSD’s new policy mandates an unnecessary process to allow trans people to be referred to by their preferred name. Trans students with unsupportive or busy parents, refusing or unable to make the formal ”other name” request through Skyward, will be forced to undergo the mental trauma associated with their non-preferred name. Even for students whose parents are able to make the formal request, the technology of Skyward can be prone to glitching, and it may result in delays to updating student information.

This new policy will hurt GMSD’s ideals for the safety and inclusion of its student population. It actively violates the freedoms of teachers and students alike, and inflicts needless trauma on trans students.

The signatories of this petition request that the Board of Education repeals the changes to Policy 6.203 considering its drastic impacts in harming the students and staff of GMSD.