Pronoun Form for Educators

As you enter the new school year, you’ll probably be spending some time getting to know your students and learning their names. It’s important to ensure you’re calling all students by the name and pronouns they’re most comfortable with, even if they don’t align with the name and gender marker on the school roster.

There are many reasons students may want to use a different name, including:

• Wanting a name that reflects their gender identity better than their name assigned at birth.
• Having a name that is commonly mistaken for another student’s name.
• Having a name that is difficult to pronounce
• Other personal reasons for not using their given name.

At the beginning of the semester, you may want to send out a form to make it easy to collect students’ names and pronouns and to address any safety issues or other concerns they may have. You can use the form below, create your own paper form, or create a digital form using a site like Google Forms. Once you have collected students’ information, you may want to meet one-on-one with certain students if they have specific concerns or safety considerations. Additionally, once you know the names students would like to be called in your classroom, update the roster for substitute teachers with the correct name for each individual.

Note: There is an ongoing debate about whether teachers should be required to disclose a student’s gender identity to that student’s parents, if asked. Current laws on this issue vary by state, and this article has state-by-state guidance regarding student records and privacy in relation to gender identity. Check with your school administration to see  what protections you have in regards to this issue.

Learn more about our Model Local Education Agency Policy on Trans and Nonbinary Students, by visiting: glsen.org/activity/model-local-education-agency-policy-on-transgender-nonbinary-students