DC to Allow Non-Binary Option in Schools

Washington, D.C. schools will begin to recognize students who identify as non-binary, an identity used to describe people who do not fit with the prescribed gender identities of male or female. 

This identity implementation will set the course for the next school year as a way for the state to make sure transgender and non-binary students feel accepted. When families enroll their child, teachers will now know which student identifies as which gender without parents having to specify such.

D.C. has been a pioneer in queer rights. As of last year, it became the first locale in the U.S to offer “X” as a non-binary option, in driver’s license, a practice Colorado just adopted as well. 

D.C. Public Schools will be among the first school districts in the nation to allow families to select “non-binary” as a gender option when enrolling their children in school. https://t.co/hIi7BFfrzd

— Perry Stein (@PerryStein) November 12, 2018

As awareness about queer students becomes more widespread, schools and parents are realizing that it is important to honor how children wish to identify and the pronouns they use. Hopefully more schools will follow in these footsteps in the near future.