Academy District 20 in Colorado will now require parental consent for name changes, removes transgender book from the district’s libraries

The Academy District 20 Board of Education in El Paso County, Colorado voted unanimously to remove the book “Almost Perfect” from high school libraries. The fictional book follows a high school transgender love story. This decision at the June 11th meeting followed conversation between board members about the contents of the book as well as a page at the end of the book which refers readers to advocacy groups and websites without parental consent or guidance.

One member said, “‘It provides resources for students to get drugs from Mexico. For me it’s something I consider extremely dangerous.'”

“Almost Perfect,” as summarized online, “Logan Witherspoon befriends Sage Hendricks at a time when he no longer trusts or believes in people. He’s drawn to Sage, with her constant smile and sexy voice, and his feelings for her grow so strong that he can’t resist kissing her. 

Sage finally discloses a big secret: she was born a boy.”

Additionally, the Board of Education updated its policy regarding “Name Changes.”

As to comply with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA,) the Board voted to include parents in the name changing process, writing that “A student of District 20 and his or her parents/guardians may request that the student to be identified in school by the first name that they have designated in accordance with this policy, and may request a change on their official student record through regulation JRA/JRC R.”

Specifically, the Board wrote that they hope to “balance respect for students, parental involvement, record accuracy, student safety, and compliance with state and federal law.”

Now, the process to change a student’s name directly includes parents. As the policy reads, “If both parents or legal guardians consent to the name change, then they must complete the ‘Student Name Change Request Form’ and submit it to the school registrar. A fully signed copy of the name change form will be emailed and mailed to all parents or legal guardians.”