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Albuquerque Public Schools announced a new policy to make school more accessible for students who don’t go by their legal name by providing the option to use a chosen first name instead. APS says many students previously had to use their legal name in school settings, which became even more challenging with online classes, where names are often displayed. This can be particularly hard on trans students.
Some official APS documents like report cards and transcripts will still reflect a student’s legal name. Chief Information and Strategy Officer Richard Bowman says it’s on the district’s online communication systems where the name a student goes by will now show up. “The use of technology has just greatly expanded,” Bowman said. “And therefore the consequences of being misnamed on technology has also greatly expanded.”