By Attorney Thomas B. Mooney, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut

The "Legal Question of the Week" is a regular feature of the CAS Weekly NewsBlast. We invite readers to submit short, law-related questions of practical concern to school administrators. Each week, we will select a question and publish an answer. While these answers cannot be considered formal legal advice, they may be of help to you and your colleagues. We may edit your questions, and we will not identify the authors. Please submit your questions to: legalmailbag@casciac.org.
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Dear Legal Mailbag:

I am confused about the rules on the names that students can use in school. Our practice is that we go by their birth certificate, and I thought we were not allowed to change the name we use on our records unless the parents had their child’s name legally changed. Does this new law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression change the rules? I understand that a student may express a gender identity different from that assigned at birth, and I know that such a student may want to be known by a different name. However, if a student’s social security and birth certificate say male, but our school records use a different name . . . then how would the school records of this child exist for any legal background check of a student that needed to be done?? It would be as if they were living as two different people??? Can you please clarify?

Signed,
Questioning


Dear Questioning:

The rule is that people, including students, can go by whatever name they wish as long as they do not adopt a name for purposes of fraud. Accordingly, when a student wishes to go by a name other than his/her birth name for the purpose of gender identity or expression, school officials can and should accommodate that request. How some school records are best handled, however, remains unclear. When the parent and student agree, it is simple and appropriate that report cards and the high school transcript show the student’s name as elected by the student. The challenge is keeping the cumulative record straight, particularly where such gender expression comes later in a student’s school career. In such cases, it may be appropriate to make a notation on the cumulative record that the student’s name was changed, and refer to a confidential file so that administration can access the information concerning the student’s original name if and when needed.