A Philadelphia school district has announced it will allow students to pick their gender identity and name on virtual education platforms without needing parents’ consent according to a report from Faithwire.
The School District of Philadelphia adopted a policy Monday that would add “nonbinary” as an option alongside “male” and “female” on Google Classroom and Infinite Campus, which are online learning tools. The identification would also affect how students’ names are printed on report cards and other assessments.
“The School District of Philadelphia is committed to providing safe and inclusive learning environments that support the emotional and mental health of all our students,” wrote District Superintendent William Hite in an online letter. According to the new rules, students will be allowed to change their gender without a parent or guardian’s permission.
District Policy 252 affirms the right of transgender and gender non-conforming students to select and identify as their preferred name and gender, even when that is different from what is printed on their birth certificate.
According to a district blog post, In support of that policy, students can communicate their preference for how their name and gender display to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities using the form linked here, without providing legal documentation or needing parent or guardian approval. They have two options:
Update name and/or gender in Google only: This will only show in Google tools such as Google Classroom, Google Meet, etc.
Update name and/or gender in SIS (which includes Google): In addition to all Google tools, the updated information displays across most other student and school-facing systems such as Schoolnet, STAR assessments, report cards, etc.
