Nation’s Fourth-Largest School District Adds Gender Identity Protections

Florida's Miami-Dade County school district, the fourth largest in the nation, has added gender identity to its antiharassment and antibullying policy.

The move was approved by district officials to expand protections for LGBT youth Thursday. The new policy comes after more than a decade of work by Equality Florida the Miami-Dade Safe Schools Coalition.

According to Equality Florida, Miami had been one of the few large Florida cities without such a policy. "This is a tipping point for the state, but our work continues until every school district large and small provides these vital protections," said Stratton Pollitzer, Equality Florida's deputy director.

With this latest victory, 1.55 million students representing nearly 60% of Florida's school population are now protected from bullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity -- ranking Florida fourth in the nation in terms of students covered.