With the start of the new school year, plenty of things have changed for students over the summer, some of them quite common. Amongst these things, changing a name/pronoun to a preferred name/pronoun has become prevalent among teens. Prior to this year, there were no state-wide school policies addressing this issue. Until now. House Bill 1608 went into effect July 1, 2023.
Some say using a preferred name/pronoun is a way for people, especially of younger age, to feel comfortable within their own skin. However, due to recent law, classroom teachers are now required to report to counselors and/or administrators when a student makes this request. These adults are then required to contact parents/guardians regarding this request.
On February 24, 2023 Michelle Davis introduced HB 1608, a bill that prohibited elementary school teachers from teaching kids pre-K through third grade about gender fluidity, gender roles, gender stereotypes, gender identity, gender expression, and/or sexual orientation. The bill went into full effect after being signed by the governor on May 4 and going through 12 amendments. Within those 12 amendments introduced a change, which was approved in the final draft, that required all teachers to notify at least one parent of a child if they decide to change their name, pronoun, or title in class no later than five days after the change was expressed.
Prior to this law, there was no law or rule that required teachers to notify parents about these changes. If a child decided to change their name or pronoun, the teacher decided what to do with this request in their own classroom. The new bill now requires teachers to get parental consent from the students’ parents to use their preferred name and pronouns.
“It creates a divisive atmosphere between students, parents and teachers and could cause many problems at home between students and parents,” said junior Jacob Evaldi. “These problems may persist as these students turn into adults, creating a weaker and more divided community.”
Pronoun changes have been used around the world for centuries. According to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the first dissatisfaction with regular binary gender pronouns dates back all the way to 1795. Pronoun changes have been used as a way to express oneself so a person doesn’t feel uncomfortable when being referred to as something they don’t feel like they are, such as someone preferring the pronouns “they/them” as opposed to “he/him” or “she/her.” It has become increasingly popular in the last two decades, and the general public have expressed both indifferences and concerns with the popularity of it amongst the LGBTQ+ community. This does not mean that only the LGBTQ+ community uses pronouns, everyone does and should as a way of expressing themselves and feeling comfortable with their identity.
Venus Alstott, a junior whose name and pronouns have been changed to their preferred state, said, “This law could affect the history of these changes in the worst way. For many students, school is a safe place where they can comfortably be themselves without having to deal with potential homophobia/transphobia at home. This law could really silence their voices and make their homes unsafe for them.”
According to “LGBT Youth and Family Acceptance” by Sabra Katz-Wise, the youth who go through these changes are worried about judgment from their peers at school and outside of school. This is already a leading issue in the rise of stress within these students, however, another factor is parental acceptance. Youth who go by different names and/or pronouns are often scared their parents will not accept them for who they are, and that is why this conversation between them and their parents does not happen.
This year the name request process has several steps at NAHS. The student requests the name or pronoun change to their classroom teacher. The teacher then emails the student’s counselor and administrator. The counselor will then email or call home and ask the student’s parent if calling them by their preferred name or pronouns is approved. If the parent says yes, the counselor will then email all of the student’s teachers to inform them that calling the student by their preferred name/pronoun is okay. If the parent says no, then the counselor will email the student’s teachers and inform them not to call them by the preferred state.
HB 1608 started out as a bill preventing younger kids from learning about difficult topics at too early of an age, but as changes were made it evolved into something much broader.
