UCLA Gender Recognition and Lived Name Policy Updates

Effective January 1, 2019, state law under the California Gender Recognition Act (California Senate Bill 179) created a non-binary gender category (the letter “x” or “nb”) on California birth certificates, drivers’ licenses, identity cards, and gender-change court orders. This enables people in our community — including transgender, intersex, and non-binary individuals — to have full recognition in California.

To ensure full compliance with this California Law, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Scott Waugh launched the UCLA Gender Recognition Act Task Force on June 28, 2019. This Task Force was charged with determining a strategic and effective approach to the systematic changes this law requires.

Principles and Resources for UCLA Lived Name, Legal Name, Pronoun, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation Data

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Principles for UCLA Lived Name, Legal Name, Pronoun, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation Data

The UCLA Data Systems Subcommittee has been tasked with preparing and implementing a strategy that engages the campus community with efforts to align campus data systems with the UC policy and UCLA recommendations.  The subcommittee has prepared a Principles for UCLA Lived Name, Legal Name, Pronoun, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation Data for campus departments and programs to support data system conversion efforts both internally with campus partners and external vendors. Per UC policy, these changes apply to all individuals in the UCLA community and must be implemented by the following UC determined dates:

  • December 31, 2023: Non-UCPath data
  • June 30, 2024: UCPath data

➡ Forms

➡ Resources

UCLA Gender Recognition Taskforce: Recommendations Report

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UCLA Gender Recognition Taskforce: Recommendations Report

The UCLA Gender Recognition Taskforce’s report of recommendations will serve as a guiding framework for the University’s efforts to come into alignment with the CA Gender Recognition Act, and the UC Presidential Policy on Gender Recognition and Lived Name. The Implementation Committee’s work is to responsibly implement these recommendations in a practical and timely manner that will require flexibility and responsiveness. As such, the report is not to be interpreted as prescriptive, but rather guiding, and always in support of the goal and spirit of the law: to enable people in our community — including transgender, intersex, and non-binary individuals — to have full recognition at UCLA.

UCLA Gender Recognition Implementation Committee Members

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  • Co-Chair: Andy Cofino, Director, LGBTQ Campus Resource Center
  • Co-Chair: Kelly Schamder, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Facilities Management 
  • Anand Bodapati, Associate Professor of Marketing and Academic Senate Representative
  • Anne Dela Cruz, Director of Human Resources & Payroll Operations Center, UCLA Campus Human Resources
  • Audrey Farrell, Graduate Student in Physics & Astronomy and LGBTQ CRC Student Representative
  • Breeze Velazquez, USAC President and Undergraduate Student Representative 
  • Eric Greene, Associate Director of Diversity & Campus Climate, UCLA Strategic Communications
  • Frank Wada, UCLA University Registrar
  • Jade Elyssa Cariaga, Chair, UCLA Committee on LGBTQ Affairs and Co-Director, UCLA Lambda Alumni Association 
  • Michael Hill, Vice Chair, UCLA Committee on LGBTQ Affairs and Professor of Mathematics
  • Michael Van Norman, Chief Technology Officer, UCLA IT Services
  • Ryan Adserias, Chief of Staff, UCLA Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
  • Susi Takeuchi, Chief Human Resources Officer, UCLA Health
  • Tam Guy, Graduate Student in Urban Planning and Graduate Student Association (GSA) Representative
  • Ying Ma, Senior Director of Application Development, Advancement Services, External Affairs

Initial Objectives

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The initial objectives of this Task Force were to:

  • Identify all campus databases to be updated and list these databases in a suggested order of priority;
  • Identify the variables (and variable options) within each database that need to be added or modified;
  • Consult with campus stakeholders and draft notices to accompany the changes in each database;
  • Identify the campus entities that require tailored education and training to implement required changes;
  • Identify the main components of a campus-wide education campaign to raise awareness of our expectations and changes in practice;
  • Identify the facilities and related policies that will need further assessment to bring the University into full compliance with current California law; and
  • Draft a timeline for the implementation of the Task Force’s recommendations.

The UCLA Gender Recognition Act Task Force conducted its work from 2019-2020 and concluded its charge with the presentation of a report of recommendations, in alignment with the UC Presidential Policy on Gender Recognition and Lived Name.

The recommendations are organized into the following categories: a) Education, Training & Outreach; b) Facilities; and c) Data Systems.

In 2021, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Emily Carter approved this report and charged Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Monroe Gorden and Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Anna Spain Bradley with advancing UCLA’s efforts into the implementation stage. In December 2021, the UCLA Gender Recognition Implementation Committee was convened under the leadership of co-chairs Andy Cofino, Director of the LGBTQ Campus Resource Center, and Kelly Schmader, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Facilities Management. The Implementation Committee will commence its work in 2022 to ensure the University meets the recommendations and compliance with the new UC presidential policy by December 2023.

Looking for more information? You’ve come to the right place! This page will serve as a repository for all resources related to UCLA’s efforts to advance compliance and support for the California Gender Recognition Act. We will update this page as new content becomes available. If you know of a valuable resource that we’ve overlooked, please let us know at rklibaner@equity.ucla.edu.