In Calif., Student Records Must Be Updated to Honor Name Changes
Maria Carrasco
January 3, 2022
A new California law, which took effect Jan. 1, requires the state’s public institutions to update records for students who have legally changed their names and allows graduates to request an updated copy of their diploma at no cost. Advocates say that could greatly benefit transgender and gender-nonconforming students.
As part of their transition, some transgender and gender-nonconforming people change the name that was assigned to them at birth, which becomes known as a deadname. Among the students who have struggled to get their chosen name reflected in their college records is Jamie Marquis, a junior psychology major at the University of California, Davis, who identifies as nonbinary, according to Cal Matters.
“I wish that there was a way to really explain to cisgender people how being deadnamed feels,” Marquis told Cal Matters. “It’s humiliating. It makes you feel out of place and unwelcome, because of all the things about your identity, even your name is being ignored.”
