Students in at least four Florida school districts will need to obtain parental permission to go by anything other than their legal birth names in the classroom, a move that critics say is a deliberate attempt to target transgender youth. Memos sent to parents by officials in Orange County and Seminole County attached an official form that must be signed to enable any “deviations” from a student’s legal name. Spokespeople for Marion County Schools and Volusia County Schools confirmed to FOX 35 Orlando that they intend to send similar memos out. The memo provided one helpful example, according to WTSP: “If the student is named Robert, but likes to be called the nickname Rob, the form must be filled out authorizing teachers and other personnel to call Robert the nickname Rob.” Similarly, according to the memo, “if the student’s legal name is Robert, but the student identifies as a transgender girl and uses the name Roberta, the parent may authorize a teacher or other personnel to call the student Roberta.” The new rule is part of recently enacted legislation known as House Bill 1069, an expansion to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill that also legally allows educators to misgender students, no matter what name they go by.
