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D.C. Public Schools to Include Third 'Non-Binary' Option for Students
This comes one year after the District of Columbia introduced a third gender option on driver's licenses.
As reported by The Washington Post, D.C. public schools have announced that they are going to let students select "non-binary" -- rather than male or female -- when indicating their gender on enrollment forms.
This additional gender option will be added to enrollment forms starting the fall of 2019 and is part of a larger effort to make gender non-binary students feel welcome in classrooms.
\u201cNo longer just male or female: D.C. schools to give families a third option with \u2018non-binary\u2019 #PrideInDCPS https://t.co/aDd9watiZL\u201d— DC Public Schools (@DC Public Schools) 1542119157
"We value the whole child at [D.C. Public Schools], and have worked diligently to ensure our schools are safe and inclusive for all students, staff, and families," interim chancellor Amanda Alexander said. "Whether through policies, programs, affinity groups, or our enrollment forms, [D.C. Public Schools] is proud to be a leader in affirming, supporting and welcoming LGBTQ students."
D.C. will be the first public school system to include gender non-binary as a third gender option, however, they aren't the first public school system to be inclusive of an additional gender besides male and female.
Last year, the Oregon Department of Education unveiled the school's enrollment plan that allows students and their families to choose "X" as an option if they don't identify as male or female. Minneapolis also has a way to let teachers know, without the students needing to tell them in person, that they don't identify with one of the two genders on the traditional, outdated binary.
This new inclusionary effort comes during the Trump's administration attempt to remove all forms of protection for individuals who identity as non-binary or transgender.
