Puerto Rico adopts LGBT-friendly uniform policy
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is taking a small and simple step towards LGBT-rights and gender-equity.
On Monday, Education Secretary Rafael Roman loosened rules regarding public school uniforms, making them more LGBTQ-friendly, according to ABC News.
For the first time, students can wear pants or skirts regardless of their birth-assigned gender. Rules before mandated skirts for girls and pants for boys.
“No student can be sanctioned for not opting to wear a particular piece of clothing … that he or she does not feel comfortable with,” Roman told ABC.
The conservative group Alerta Puerto Rico accused the Department of Education of taking away parents power and working against children, according to the report.
This past year alone, Puerto Rico has made great strides in LGBTQ policies, including refusing to defend a ban on same-sex marriage, prohibiting hospitals from discriminating against transgender individuals, and making it easier for trans citizens to change their gender on driver’s licenses.
In August, Secretary of Housing Alberto Lastra Power came out, becoming the first openly gay cabinet member.
Such advances challenge the notion that Puerto Rico is as socially conservative, or opposed to LGBT-causes, ascommentators and polling suggests.
Leave a Reply