Al Stone-Gebhardt worked hard in school to make sure he graduates in May, and he spent hundreds of dollars on commencement regalia, but he is fully prepared not to participate in the ceremony.

The 17-year-old, who is transgender, said he fears his high school, Tulsa Union, might use his deadname B次元官网网址� the name he was given at birth but no longer uses B次元官网网址� on his diploma and during the ceremony instead of his legally changed name. He has had teachers call him by his birth name, sometimes inadvertently, and said he finds the experience traumatizing.

B次元官网网址淏eing deadnamed just immediately makes you feel belittled, weak and insignificant,B次元官网网址� Stone-Gebhardt said. B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 want to be in the classroom. I didnB次元官网网址檛 trust the teacher.B次元官网网址�

After The Associated Press contacted the school about Stone-GebhardtB次元官网网址檚 concerns, a spokesperson said the school will work with his parents to make sure his correct name is used.

As hundreds of bills nationwide take aim at nearly every facet of transgender existence, from health care to athletics to bathroom access, trans kids and their families say certain proposals could eliminate one of the last remaining safe havens to explore their identities: K-12 public schools.

Several B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� proposals, which aim to give parents greater control over their childrenB次元官网网址檚 education, would formally allow or require schools to deadname trans students or out them to their parents without consent. While some parents and teachers argue they have a right to know, others warn it could jeopardize the mental health and physical safety of gender-nonconforming children and place educators in the crosshairs.

More than 25 proposals introduced across 14 states include provisions permitting teachers or fellow students not to honour the name and pronouns that align with a studentB次元官网网址檚 gender identity. Some of those proposals and other standalone measures, including at least two at the , would require parental permission to use different identifiers. At least a dozen would also require schools to alert parents of gender identity changes in most circumstances, which trans students like Stone-Gebhardt say would strip them of their privacy and autonomy.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education this year that would require parental notification if a child begins expressing gender identity questions. A similar proposal in the North Carolina legislature, where Republicans are just one seat shy of the supermajority they need to override any veto from the Democratic governor, and is now in the House.

They mirror laws enacted last year in and , and guidelines in , that prohibit schools from withholding gender identity information. Florida Republicans advanced legislation this week that would expand the law critics dubbed B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� to prohibit schools from addressing students with pronouns that donB次元官网网址檛 align with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Some education officials support the idea of notifying parents about identity changes. Education guidelines on social transitioning, including when to involve parents, vary widely across states and school districts. Such proposals would provide uniformity that some educators say is currently lacking.

B次元官网网址淎s a parent, IB次元官网网址檇 absolutely want to know that, and I think most parents do,B次元官网网址� said Ginger Tinney, executive director of Professional Oklahoma Educators, a nonpartisan association that represents educators from across the state. B次元官网网址淲hen it comes to serious stuff like this, this tells me the child is struggling with some major issues, and they need their mom and dad to know.B次元官网网址�

But others, like Emilly Osterling, a high school special education teacher in Wake County, North Carolina, say the reporting requirements force teachers to betray their studentsB次元官网网址� trust or risk losing their job. While collaboration with parents is essential to her work as a special educator, she said, it cannot come at the expense of any studentB次元官网网址檚 safety or scare teachers away from building bonds with their students.

B次元官网网址淪tudents wouldnB次元官网网址檛 trust teachers anymore,B次元官网网址� Osterling said. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e putting educators in a very, very bad position. ItB次元官网网址檚 kind of taking pieces of our job to a different level. A job is your source of income, I mean, itB次元官网网址檚 your livelihood.B次元官网网址�

When Renee SekelB次元官网网址檚 nonbinary teenager first requested a different name on their Christmas stocking, she responded with B次元官网网址渁bsolutely notB次元官网网址� in what she now considers B次元官网网址渢he wrong reaction.B次元官网网址� The mother of three and local activist in Cary, North Carolina, said she took about six months to accept the new name.

After hearing her childB次元官网网址檚 teacher call them by that name in a parent-teacher meeting, Sekel said, she realized her child was already happily out at school. In time, she grew thankful that the public school had been a safe and affirming place for her child to express their identity before it was fully accepted at home B次元官网网址� and that they were able to tell family on their own terms.

B次元官网网址淚 failed as a parent in not giving them the freedom and the safety they needed at home,B次元官网网址� Sekel said. B次元官网网址淏ut they were able to find it at school.B次元官网网址�

Now, Sekel said, itB次元官网网址檚 worth sharing her own shortcomings to preserve that safe space for other kids. Proposals with forced-outing provisions could create life-threatening situations for those with unsupportive families, she said.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not LGBTQ or anything, but I was abused as a child, and school was the place where people didnB次元官网网址檛 call me names or didnB次元官网网址檛 hit me. School was safe for me,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淔orcing teachers to call home and tell the parent things that those children have told them in confidence is going to hurt kids, itB次元官网网址檚 going to get kids beat.B次元官网网址�

Supporters of the North Carolina bill have repeatedly pointed to an exception that would prevent parents from accessing school records if thereB次元官网网址檚 reason to believe it would lead to abuse or neglect. But Osterling said teachers are not always able to spot signs of abuse and cannot predict how every parent will react. Her concerns echo those of several who have testified against the bill.

Sarah Warbelow, legal director at the Human Rights Campaign, said bills that explicitly mention gender identity are not the only ones that could out an LGBTQ student. Broad language in parental rights proposals in states like , which would require that parents be informed of any change in their childB次元官网网址檚 emotional health or well-being, could be interpreted to apply to sexual orientation or gender identity, she said.

Idaho parent Kris Huntting consoled their teenage son, who is trans, after most of his teachers deadnamed him on the first day of school, in accordance with a new policy. Huntting said he had spent the day terrified for his closeted trans friends with disapproving parents who had been told they needed parental permission be called a name other than the one they were assigned at birth.

The Nampa high school rolled back the policy after Huntting raised concerns. But Huntting still worries the bill, which passed both chambers and was sent last week to the Republican governor, could be broadly interpreted to make it a statewide standard.

B次元官网网址淵our child is a whole human,B次元官网网址� Huntting said. B次元官网网址淚f they want you to know this thing about their existence, theyB次元官网网址檒l tell you. But using the B次元官网网址業 have a right to knowB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 based on the assumption that being trans is harmful and something to be helped.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擧annah Schoenbaum and Sean Murphy, The Associated Press