Under the newly introduced AB 245 bill, led by California Assemblyman David Chiu, nonbinary and transgender public college students would be allowed to put their preferred names on diplomas instead of their birth names, according to SFGATE.
This is an extension of Chiu’s previous bill, AB 711, which mandated K-12 school districts update former students’ names and gender markers on their diplomas and transcripts. AB 711 was signed into a law in 2019.
The current bill has received support from Equality California, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) advocacy organization.
“Making sure college records reflect a student’s name is a no-brainer,” Chiu said. “Transgender and nonbinary students face many challenges, and this simple policy will ensure they have one less barrier to overcome.”