On Monday, Rafael Roman, the Puerto Rican secretary of education, announced that he had signed a new regulation that offers a more inclusive atmosphere for gay, lesbian and transgender students.

Regardless of their genders, students will now be allowed to wear pants or skirts as part of their school uniforms. Furthermore, teachers will be barred from disciplining students for what they decide to wear.

As reported by the Associated Press, Roman explained the decision to reporters, saying, "No student can be sanctioned for not opting to wear a particular piece of clothing ... that he or she does not feel comfortable with."

Puerto Rico’s latest move toward LGBT inclusiveness comes just months after Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla signed an executive order prohibiting bullying in public schools due to sexual orientation.

Cristina Torres, the director of a high school in the Puerto Rican city of Ponce, praised the new regulation, but noted that real change regarding LGBT rights has yet to come to the U.S. territory.

"Changing people's mentality from one day to another will be hard. ... The most incredible thing is that young people can accept this with an open mind, but it's the adults who discriminate,” she said.

There have already been complaints about the new regulation. The conservative group Alerta Puerto Rico voiced their consternation with the reform, saying, "Once again, this government and the Department of Education work against what's best for our children.”

LGBT issues have been at the forefront of Puerto Rican news lately. In August, Secretary of Housing Alberto Lastra Power announced that he was gay, which made him Puerto Rico’s first openly gay cabinet member.

As quoted in Pink News, Lastra Power spoke to graduates about overcoming societal obstacles, saying, “The prejudice that I have lived as a gay man I have overcome. You too can beat discrimination.”