MADISON, Wis. – A Wisconsin high school is tossing tradition in favor of a gender-neutral homecoming court in an attempt to “think more progressively and inclusively.”

Students at Madison West High School successfully petitioned officials to ditch the school’s process for selecting 10 homecoming court couples to instead move to a gender-neutral format that recognizes the top 20 vote-getters, the Wisconsin State Journal reports.

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Madison West Principal Beth Thompson said students presented a petition last school year with 1,000 signatures calling for the change, which is meant to create a more welcoming environment for students who don’t conform to male or female genders.

Thompson consulted student leaders how had “some really deep discussions” about the issue and developed the new process for selecting royalty courts for school dances.

“This really was a lengthy process we went through, and we’ll evaluate it through this first go-round,” she told the Journal. “It’s really an experiment to think more progressively and inclusively.”

The experiment will remove king and queen titles and replace them with gender neutral names, such as “Two Regents” or “Regent Rulers.” The school’s mascot is Reggie the Regent.

“The times have changed, so we should be looking at our traditions and getting them updated so everyone feels valued, included, empowered and a part of our community,” Thompson said, according to Channel 3000.

“I think this gets us closer on a whole variety of fronts to making each and every student in our building feel like a valued, recognized member of our community,” she told the Journal.

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Several gay rights groups said Madison West High School is the first in the state to adopt such a progressive homecoming selection process, and applauded the move.

As did West junior Arwen Sadler, who identifies as “gender fluid” – or whatever sex is convenient at the moment.

“Sometimes I identify as a girl, sometimes as a boy,” Sadler said. “For me personally to have this statement from the school is really affirming and validating.”

The Journal points out that a 2012 survey shows there’s about 250 sexually abnormal students like Sadler in Dane County, out of about 17,000 total, or roughly 1.5 percent of the teen student population.

The student petition presented to Thompson last spring said the goal is to “create a safer and more inclusive environment for all students” so Madison West “can be the progressive trailblazer it was meant to be.”

West Student Council member Kate Scholz said gender fluid students have been selected to royalty courts before and struggled with choosing between a male or female role.

“No one should be forced to do that,” she said. “This is a change that is unlikely to affect a lot of people, but the people it does affect, it affects in a really powerful way.”

The student petition also cited examples of other high schools and universities that have changed policies to cater to sexually abnormal students.

Another Wisconsin school, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, also eliminated its traditional king and queen homecoming titles in favor of the gender-neutral term “royalty,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The school’s festivals committee did away with the tradition heading into homecoming celebrations this week at the alleged urging of students, and install a new selection process that recognizes the two people with the most votes, regardless of gender.

“It could be two men, it could be two women, it could be two trans folks,” Women’s and LGBTQ Resource Center coordinator Christopher Jorgenson told WQOW. “I think this a very logical and very welcome change to homecoming and will only make it better.”