CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The Chesapeake School Board has changed its nondiscrimination policy, adding protections to ensure students and faculty are treated equally regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

WAVY-TV reports that the board voted unanimously Monday to approve revisions to its current nondiscrimination policy.

State law required school boards to pass policies to protect students who don’t identify with the gender they were assigned at birth by the start of the school year.

But last month, proposed changes didn’t even make it to a vote before the board.

The new changes aren’t the same as the model policy, but they strengthen current protections and align with requirements by state law to include non-discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.