Campus Pride Joins 36 Orgs Urging The NCES to Incorporate Nonbinary Students Into IPED System

Campus Pride filed a letter with 36 other organizations as signatories calling on NCES to be more inclusive by recognizing nonbinary students

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - April 26, 2022 - Today, Campus Pride along with 36 other national/regional organizations requested that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) incorporate nonbinary students into all categories of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

A letter from Campus Pride on behalf of the signatories was sent to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) who has oversight of NCES. A separate request for comment was also filed with the DOE online in the public request for comments.

The organizations are recommending that NCES add a "nonbinary gender identity" category to all tables. As colleges are becoming more detailed in identifying the gender identities of their students, NCES should consider including additional gender options, such as agender, gender fluid, genderqueer, questioning, trans man, and trans woman. These would allow for a more comprehensive understanding of their students across gender identities.

The letter states: "While we appreciate that the NCES is proposing to add a single question to IPEDS that asks colleges about the number of students at their institutions who identify as other than female or male, this change is not enough. Nonbinary students need to be included in all gender breakdowns so that their experiences, which are often very different from female and male students, can be recognized and fully accounted for in order to ensure a safe, inclusive learning environment. The value of nonbinary inclusion should outweigh any added reporting burden on colleges."

According to the American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment (NCHA), the number of students identifying as trans or nonbinary has nearly tripled in the last five years, with most of this increase because of the growth in respondents identifying as nonbinary.

The Common Application, the Coalition Application, and the Universal College Application, which manage the admissions applications for more than 1,200 colleges and universities, enable students to identify their gender identity and include a "nonbinary" option. In addition, "nonbinary" is a category for "legal sex" in 24 states, where individuals can have an "x" as their gender marker on their driver's license and/or birth certificates.

Signatories include:

ABOUT CAMPUS PRIDE

Since 2001, Campus Pride has been the leading national organization building future LGBTQ and ally leaders as well as creating safer communities at colleges and universities. The Campus Pride Index annually helps 80,000 people find LGBTQ-inclusive colleges and universities. In addition, the organization has specifically tailored programs and resources to support LGBTQ youth and campus communities. Learn more at CampusPride.org.

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Campus Pride represents the leading national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization for student leaders and campus groups working to create a safer college environment for LGBTQ students. The organization is a volunteer-driven network “for” and “by” student leaders. The primary objective of Campus Pride is to develop necessary resources, programs and services to support LGBTQ and ally students on college campuses across the United States.
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