The law firm Lozano Smith is advising school districts to review policies and forms they have to request name and gender changes following the signing of a new California law.  Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 711, which establishes a process for former students to change their name and gender on pupil records, including diplomas. Existing law requires school districts to maintain and preserve, in perpetuity, certain mandatory pupil records, even after a student graduates. According to a client brief from the law firm, AB 711 was enacted to address the needs of former students and to protect their privacy rights. Prior to the enactment of this statute, former students’ prior legal names (or “dead names”) and/or gender were being inadvertently disclosed by school districts to colleges and employers with the release of their transcripts. This bill makes it easier for former students to request the pupil records maintained by a school district be changed to reflect their preferred name and/or gender on student records maintained by a school district. Notably, AB 711 also includes diplomas as a document that may be reissued, even though diplomas are typically considered ceremonial documents. Under AB 711, in order for a former student’s name and/or gender to be changed on mandatory permanent records, the former student must provide legal documentation of the change. If the former student does not provide documentation of the change, they may still proceed to change their name and/or gender through the standard process for amending student records, birth certificates, passports, social security cards, or court orders indicating a name change or a gender change, or both. School districts should review what policies and forms they have to request name and gender changes, and ensure that those forms are in compliance with Senate Bill 179 and AB 711.