LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Every student that enrolled in Michigan’s K-12 schools this past fall was either a male or a female. That’s according to the official state agency in charge of school data.

According to The Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI), which the state says is a division of the State Budget Office in the Department of Technology, Management & Budget, there were 694,431 female students and 732,955 male students enrolled in Michigan’s K-12 schools this fall accounting for every single one of the total 1,427,386 students.

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CEPI says its data is submitted from the local school districts, which would mean every school district is identifying its students – at least in terms for CEPI reports – in the traditional two-gender manner.

Under the heading of “Student Subgroups”, CEPI lists categories such as “Homeless,” “Economically Disadvantaged” and “Foster Care”. Under “Gender”, CEPI states “Students are reported in the data as either male or female.”

State Education Superintendent Michael Rice sent a letter to school district leaders with the subject line “LGBTQ+ Students: Protections and Supports” telling them it was illegal to discriminate in Michigan over a student’s preferred gender.

“All students have the right to be treated equally and fairly, free from discrimination, harassment, and bullying, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression,” the Feb. 13 letter stated. “This commitment to fair treatment includes transgender, nonbinary, and intersex students and staff and applies to all district operations, programs, and activities.”

The Michigan Department of Education also came out in support of the U.S. Department of Education’s 2021 ruling under President Joe Biden that gender identity was a protected class until Title IX.

In an email to Michigan News Source, CEPI stated it follows state and federal laws in collecting and reporting student data.