Submitted by daveydave1987 t3_11egi96 in springfieldMO
Hello! I live in Springfield now, but I went to Nixa High School before I legally and medically transitioned to a woman. I’m wanting to change my old high school diploma and transcript to reflect my new name, but I received some pushback from records at NHS.
Does anyone have experience changing their high school documents after they transitioned in Missouri? It would be super helpful if anyone have any info on this!
This resource may provide additional information about potential protections you may have.
I saw this! I called a second time and reminded them of FERPA, but the person kept saying it was illegal. When I pressed them for what state or federal laws that made it illegal, they couldn’t come up with anything and eventually hung up. I will most likely contact Lambda Legal and Promo to help.
So,, according to the US Dept of Education:
>Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information.
You may have to go nuclear on this. cc the superintendent, registrar, etc and request the school district's FERPA policy for your review. I would summarize the date and times that you spoke with whoever you spoke with, and what they stated (ie, they stated it was illegal, you asked under what policy, and they hung up on you). Basically create a record of communication "paper trail". Keep it polite and factual.
It’s very sad to see transphobes downvote my post :(
It’s their only joy. I’m sorry. I hope you are successful in getting your name changed.
It would be great if we could all expect some respect.
Exactly! How someone being themselves is a threat to others makes no sense to me. It’s just plain bigotry.
Do you have a certified copy of the judgment where you changed your name? I don't understand why they won't issue you a new transcript and diploma with that on record.
I actually just got them now to budge, so I will officially be changing everything!
Congratulations! 🎊
What made them finally be reasonable, if you want to share?
I called them a second time to remind them of FERPA and how I have a right to change these documents if my new identity documents do not reflect the old information. They tried to tell me it was not legal for them change this information, so I asked for who could change it. They said “no one”. I then pressed and asked what state or federal law made it not legal. The person said “I don’t know”, and I said if they didn’t know how can they really be sure that it’s not possible.
After they hung up, thirty minutes later I got an apology back from that same person and they said that they did some digging and apparently it was possible and I just needed to bring my documents to the Nixa schools registrar. I also apologized, cause I got heated with them earlier, but it seems like they just didn’t know and just assumed it wasn’t possible. I will be doing this tomorrow, thank goodness.
Seems like a genuine learning opportunity for both sides and a good resolution to the issue. I'm glad they dug further to correct their misinformation and apologized!
I agree!
Good luck. I can't imagine they'll make it easy on you. 😓
But idk anything about it so I have no advice, just sending my good vibes.
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eltoasterhead t1_jae3yze wrote
It’s possible, my mom was crazy and used a fake name for us in high school (in springfield) and my sisters diploma was given to her with the wrong name, some time later it was a hassle getting into college due to not having the same name on her birth certificate and social so they had to send her an amended one. Just letting you know if they say they can’t keep pushing.