On Monday, Education Secretary Rafael Roman loosened rules regarding public school uniforms, making them more LGBTQ-friendly, according to ABC News.
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Puerto Rico’s Education Minister has announced changes to a school uniform code that lets boys wear skirts.
Girls in public schools across the USA territory traditionally wear skirts as part of their uniforms and the boys wear trousers.
But with the new regulation, students are now able to wear uniforms that match their preferred gender without fear of being disciplined by school authorities.
However, under new rules, students of any gender can choose to wear either a skirt or pants to school – regardless of gender, and without risk of punishment.
Christina Torres, a high school director in Ponce, Puerto Rico, told AP that two years ago she was in a picture with a male student who wore female clothes to his graduation, and it became the subject of complaint from other teachers. In mid-July, the socially conservative island legalized same-sex marriage after overturning a ban on same-sex weddings.
“Changing people’s mentality from one day to another will be hard…”
This step for LGBT Puerto Ricans comes months after Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla signed an executive order into effect regarding bullying in schools due to sexual orientation.
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“Once again, this government and the Department of Education work against what’s best for our children”, said officials with Alerta Puerto Rico, a group that says it was founded to promote family and childhood values.
