Gender Identity bill (SB-179)

The Gender Identity bill (SB-179) was signed by Governor Jerry Brown and went into effect in 2019. For the first time in state history, California legally recognizes a third gender marker option for residents who do not identify as male or female.This law ceated a nonbinary gender category on California Birth Certificates, drivers’ licenses, identity cards, and gender marker change court orders.

Important Note: While the state law allows gender marker X on student records, federal law requires FAFSA applicants to designate their sex assigned at birth as Male or Female.  

Something to look forward to: Effective 2023-2024, the question of someone’s sex assigned at birth will no longer be required and the Department of Education will remove it.

For more information on SB 179, visit the Title IX website.