Name Change Tool

Most students who socially transition will go by a new name before changing it legally. When a student sees their true name being used, they feel safer and more supported at school. Most school systems will require that the legal name stays on file, however with a little creativity the student’s chosen name can often be used.

Here are some examples of common name change challenges (and workarounds):

Report Cards

Many educators believe that a report card is a legal document and therefore must use the student’s legal name – this is often not true. At the very least, you should be able to have the legal name only once on the document and use the chosen name in the comments sections.

Graduation

While the official transcript likely needs the legal name, the diploma is intended for display and may offer more room for flexibility. If the school or district will only issue diplomas with students’ legal names, ask for extra blank copies in case of an error and print a new one with the correct name.

Standardized Tests

One possible fix is to add an additional student, as if someone was missed. Submit the students chosen name (and be sure to use their student number so that the test results are connected to the right person). In jurisdictions where this has been attempted, it has successfully attached the student’s test to their records, while allowing them to see their chosen name when they sit down to write.

And yes – name changes are so important (and sometimes complex) that we made two posts about them! See this post for an example of a name change planning tool, so that you can be sure that all the school systems are being accounted for.