“A Los Angeles high school on Friday opened the first gender-neutral restroom in the nation's second-largest school district, and likely the state, in a move geared toward accommodating transgender students. Santee Education Complex converted a second-floor girls' restroom after the campus Gay Straight Alliance gathered some 700 signatures on a petition calling for the change during a heated national debate over transgender rights. North Carolina's governor in March signed into law a measure barring transgender people from using bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, touching off widespread criticism from corporate, entertainment and sports leaders. “Our students who advocated for the gender-neutral restrooms are the real heroes this valuable experience allowed them to develop leadership skills that will prepare them for college and career”, Santee Principal Martin Gomez said in a statement. Elise Hill, a spokeswoman for the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, which runs Santee, said that it was believed to be the first gender-neutral school restroom in a public school in the state and among only a few nationwide”. – Dan Whitcomb via Reuters



The first gender-neutral restroom in the Los Angeles school district is seen at Santee Education Complex high school in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 18, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)





Kween Robinson, 17, (L) and Alonzo Hernandez, 16, pose for a selfie in front of the first gender-neutral restroom in the Los Angeles school district, which they helped lobby for, at Santee Education Complex high school in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 18, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)





Students holds signs they made to campaign for the first gender-neutral restroom in the Los Angeles school district at Santee Education Complex high school in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 18, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)





Students walk past a protest sign on a bathroom which helped lobby for the first gender-neutral restroom in the Los Angeles school district at Santee Education Complex high school in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 18, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)





A protest sign on a bathroom which helped lobby for the first gender-neutral restroom in the Los Angeles school district is seen at Santee Education Complex high school in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 18, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)





The first gender-neutral restroom in the Los Angeles school district is seen at Santee Education Complex high school in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 18, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)





The first gender-neutral restroom in the Los Angeles school district is seen at Santee Education Complex high school in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 18, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)





A student displays a button made to campaign for the first gender-neutral restroom in the Los Angeles school district at Santee Education Complex high school in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 18, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)





A student walks past the first gender-neutral restroom in the Los Angeles school district at Santee Education Complex high school in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 18, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)





A student washes her hands in the first gender-neutral restroom in the Los Angeles school district at Santee Education Complex high school in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 18, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)





A student walks out of the first gender-neutral restroom in the Los Angeles school district at Santee Education Complex high school in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 18, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)





Alonzo Hernandez, 16, and Juliet Dominguez, 15, walk out of the first gender-neutral restroom in the Los Angeles school district at Santee Education Complex high school in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 18, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)





Jose Lara, 34, Dean of Students & GSA Advisor, holds a sign which was part of the campaign for the first gender-neutral restroom in the Los Angeles school district at Santee Education Complex high school in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 18, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)





Monique Garcia, 17, (L-R), Juliet Dominguez, 15, Johnny Ramos, 18, and Jose Lara, 34, Dean of Students & GSA Advisor, pose for a selfie in front of the first gender-neutral restroom in the Los Angeles school district, which they helped lobby for, at Santee Education Complex high school in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 18, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)





A gender-neutral bathroom is seen at the University of California, Irvine in Irvine, California September 30, 2014. A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday ruled for a Virginia transgender student seeking access to the bathroom of his gender identity. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)