New rules for schools | Morning Newsletter

Let there be rain today.

New nondiscrimination regulations the city enacted just this month mean schools must make specific accommodations for transgender children.

And we’re also bringing you an architecture critic’s latest take on Philly’s potential to be a “bedroom city.”

It was a hot one at the Phillies game yesterday, and we captured the sweltering scene on a day when the official high temperature in Philly hit 99, a record for July 24. Today might even feel worse because of, what else, humidity. But relief is on the way.

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— Ashley Hoffman (@_AshleyHoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Under new nondiscrimination regulations that the city enacted just this month, all Philadelphia schools and organizations that serve children and teenagers now must make accommodations for transgender youth or risk penalties.

There have been choruses of praise for the move among advocates for the transgender community during this time of more awareness about transgender kids.

“The change to the city code comes as transgender young people have increasingly become a political issue, with lawmakers in a handful of states — including Pennsylvania — championing legislation that seeks to restrict the rights of trans children,” reporter Anna Orso writes.

Now organizations serving youth must allow transgender and gender-nonconforming youth to use the names, pronouns, clothing, and restrooms that correspond with their gender identity or face penalties. Another requirement: Employees in organizations that serve youth will have training, and won’t reveal a child’s transgender status to staff, peers, or parents unless “the youth has authorized such disclosure.”

Keep reading for the full story.

Architecture critic Inga Saffron’s latest column starts by letting you know this isn’t another take on what we’ve heard many times, that “desk workers will never again fill the trophy towers that define our urban skylines.”

And she doesn’t waste time with what the city used to be. Instead, she gets right down to what it could be: a great “bedroom city.” Living in a “bedroom city” would mean more people achieving that mythical ideal of “having it all” at home in their neighborhoods during the day. Think workers hitting the local coffee shop instead of the Center City cafe for the morning java fix.

Weekday traffic on East Passyunk Avenue is up and, as Saffron sees it, Philly is uniquely hospitable for residents to have a bit of everything. “Because you can live in a house and have access to open space, while still enjoying the sophistication and walkability of a big city, Philadelphia has a strategic advantage over other places,” she writes.

Read more about the future of a “bedroom city.”

What kind of cookies did the first Girl Scouts sell in the windows of the Philadelphia Gas and Electric Company’s Arch Street location in the 1930s?

A) Lemon

B) Chocolate chip

C) Caramel

D) Sugar

Find out if you know the answer.

We have 43 days left until the end of summer. Best to make them count.