diff --git a/.github/actions-scripts/enterprise-server-issue-templates/deprecation-issue.md b/.github/actions-scripts/enterprise-server-issue-templates/deprecation-issue.md
index aad15dee98..f5b0151980 100644
--- a/.github/actions-scripts/enterprise-server-issue-templates/deprecation-issue.md
+++ b/.github/actions-scripts/enterprise-server-issue-templates/deprecation-issue.md
@@ -4,6 +4,13 @@ The day after a GHES version's [deprecation date](https://github.com/github/docs
 
 **Note**: Do each step below in a separate PR. Only move on to the next step when the previous PR has been merged.
 
+## Step 0: Remove deprecated version numbers from docs-content issue forms
+
+**Note**: This step can be performed independently of all other steps, and can be done several days before or along with the other steps. 
+
+- [ ] In the `docs-content` repo, remove the deprecated GHES version number from the "Specific GHES version(s)" section in the following files (in the `.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/` directory): [`release-tier-1-or-2-tracking.yml`](https://github.com/github/docs-content/blob/main/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release-tier-1-or-2-tracking.yml) and [`release-tier-3-or-tier-4.yml`](https://github.com/github/docs-content/blob/main/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release-tier-3-or-tier-4.yml).
+- [ ] When the PR is approved, merge it in. This can be merged independently from all other steps. 
+
 ## Step 1: Scrape the docs and archive the files
 
 - [ ] In your checkout of the [repo with archived GHES content](https://github.com/github/help-docs-archived-enterprise-versions), create a new branch: `git checkout -b deprecate-<version>`
@@ -58,3 +65,4 @@ In your `docs-internal` checkout:
     - [ ] Open a PR with the results. The diff may be large and complex, so make sure to get a review from `@github/docs-content`.
     - [ ] Debug any test failures or unexpected results. 
 - [ ] When the PR is approved, merge it in to complete the deprecation. This can be merged independently from step 5. 
+
diff --git a/.github/actions-scripts/enterprise-server-issue-templates/release-issue.md b/.github/actions-scripts/enterprise-server-issue-templates/release-issue.md
index 5b34e587fa..8e8616a640 100644
--- a/.github/actions-scripts/enterprise-server-issue-templates/release-issue.md
+++ b/.github/actions-scripts/enterprise-server-issue-templates/release-issue.md
@@ -107,3 +107,4 @@ This file should be automatically updated, but you can also run `script/update-e
 - [ ] The `github/docs-internal` repo is frozen, and the `Repo Freeze Check / Prevent merging during deployment freezes (pull_request_target)` test is expected to fail. Use admin permissions to ship the release branch with this failure.
 - [ ] Do any required smoke tests.
 - [ ] Once smoke tests have passed, you can [unfreeze the repos](https://github.com/github/docs-content/blob/main/docs-content-docs/docs-content-workflows/freezing.md) and post an announcement in Slack.
+- [ ] After the release, in the `docs-content` repo, add the now live version number to the "Specific GHES version(s)" section in the following files: [`.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release-tier-1-or-2-tracking.yml`](https://github.com/github/docs-content/blob/main/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release-tier-1-or-2-tracking.yml) and [`.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release-tier-3-or-tier-4.yml`](https://github.com/github/docs-content/blob/main/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release-tier-3-or-tier-4.yml). When the PR is approved, merge it in. 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/actions-scripts/projects.js b/.github/actions-scripts/projects.js
index 83d255436a..8c96c6f8c6 100644
--- a/.github/actions-scripts/projects.js
+++ b/.github/actions-scripts/projects.js
@@ -161,8 +161,10 @@ export function generateUpdateProjectNextItemFieldMutation({
   function generateMutationToUpdateField({ item, fieldID, value, literal = false }) {
     const parsedValue = literal ? `value: "${value}"` : `value: ${value}`
 
+    // Strip "=" out of the item ID when creating the mutation ID to avoid a GraphQL parsing error
+    // (statistically, this should still give us a unique mutation ID)
     return `
-      set_${fieldID.substr(1)}_item_${item}: updateProjectNextItemField(input: {
+      set_${fieldID.substr(1)}_item_${item.replaceAll('=', '')}: updateProjectNextItemField(input: {
         projectId: $project
         itemId: "${item}"
         fieldId: ${fieldID}