California Governor Jerry Brown today signed off on the School Success and Opportunity Act, aimed at ensuring that transgender students can take part in all school activities, sports teams and programs, as well as access facilities that accord with their gender identity, The Bay Area Reporter says.
The bill’s author, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, calls the development “very exciting.”
Ammiano, a gay San Francisco Democrat, had called on the governor to “do the right thing” in a statement made earlier in the day, on the eve of the deadline for Brown to take action, the report notes.
“While many California school children are already protected by policies in some of our biggest school districts, other districts don’t seem to understand that transgender students should have equal access to all programs and facilities,” Ammiano says in the statement.
The act seeks to avoid lawsuits by specifying school districts’ obligations, he adds.
The law comes into effect Jan 1.
Why you can trust Xtra
