The U.S. Department of Education recently announced that it will no longer use the terms "mother" and "father" when collecting information about a student's legal parents when those parents apply for federal student aid. Instead of using the words "mother" and "father," the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid form (FAFSA) will use "Parent 1" and "Parent 2."

The announcement states that the changes to the 2014-2015 federal student aid form "more accurately and fairly assess students' need for aid" and that "Gender-specific terms fail to capture income and other information from one parent when a student's parents are in a same-sex marriage under state law but not federally recognized under the Defense of Marriage Act."

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, "All students should be able to apply for federal student aid within a system that incorporates their unique family dynamics…. [that] provide[s] an inclusive form that reflects the diversity of American families." more >>

Transgender students in California are one step closer to playing on their school's one-sex sports team of choice or have access to a bathroom based on their chosen gender identity, not their physical sex at birth. The state Assembly passed a bill Thursday that would mandate school districts allow transgender students their choice.

Sponsored by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) Assembly Bill 1266 is aimed at prohibiting "discrimination against transgender students" in the state's school districts, Ammiano said.

Several school districts, including in Los Angeles and San Francisco, already have policies that allow students to participate in activities and use facilities for the gender they identify with, according to local news reports. Should the bill also pass in the state's Senate and signed by the governor, it would ensure that all students have equal access, according to Ammiano. more >>

The State of Idaho has adopted new rules regarding driver's licenses for transgendered individuals, stating that they no longer require a doctor's note specifying that they had undergone surgery.

In 2011, the Idaho Transportation Department mandated that a transgendered person had to produce a surgeon's signed note specifying their change of gender.

However, the Department opted to amend its rules after the Idaho chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union expressed opposition over the former policy. more >>

A transgender woman has been banned from an Idaho grocery store after she tried to use the women's restroom and patrons complained that her presence was making them feel "very uncomfortable."

The grocery store reportedly has a right to refuse service to anyone, and has cited the transgender woman for a misdemeanor in trespassing and banned her from visiting the store for a full year.

Alberto Robledo of Lewiston, Idaho, who was born a male but now identifies as a female named Ally, reportedly visited the women's restroom at a Rosauers grocery store in Lewiston on April 8, according to The Associated Press. more >>

A transgender teen who was born male but insists he is a female, cried foul last week when all-female Smith College twice rejected his application for admission to the institution because of his male genitalia.

The teen, Calliope Wong, 17, a senior at Amity Regional Senior High School in Connecticut, took to his blog last summer when Smith first declined his application because he isn't biologically a female. In order to be recognized as a female, Wong must first perform gender reassignment surgery, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

But in a defiant and seemingly quixotic appeal on his blog, Wong railed against the school's rejection and incorrectly identifies himself as a transexual girl. A transexual is a person who has undergone gender reassignment surgery, which Wong has yet to do. more >>

Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, stars of TLC's reality show "19 Kids & Counting," recently revealed that their expected grandchild will be a boy, the second boy to bless the family of parents Josh and Anna Duggar.

"We are so thrilled. It's a little boy, so they'll have two boys and one girl," Michelle, who has given birth to 19 children, told TODAY Moms on Monday.

"Probably the second boy of many to come," husband Jim Bob added. more >>