This past Tuesday the Council of the District of Columbia unanimously and with little fanfare passed B21-168, the LGBTQ Cultural Competency Continuing Education Amendment Act. When signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser, he district will be the first jurisdiction in the nation to require LGBTQ cultural competency training for all health care providers.

The bill sets a modest but needed floor for such training by requiring any health care professional who is required to receive continuing education to include at least two credits of LGBTQ-related clinical or cultural competency training.