A Los Angeles high school has opened the first gender-neutral restroom in the nation's second-largest school district in a move geared toward accommodating transgender students.

Santee Education Complex converted a second-floor girls' restroom after the campus Gay Straight Alliance gathered some 700 signatures on a petition calling for the change.

It comes amid a heated national debate over transgender rights after North Carolina's governor signed into law a measure barring transgender people from using bathrooms consistent with their gender identity.

A sign outside the gender neutral bathroom in the LA high school states it is available for 'everyone'

Monique Garcia, 17, walks past what is the first gender-neutral restroom in the Los Angeles school district

A student walks out of the gender neutral restroom which was created after a petition calling for it received 700 signatures

'Our students who advocated for the gender-neutral restrooms are the real heroes this valuable experience allowed them to develop leadership skills that will prepare them for college and career,' Santee Principal Martin Gomez said in a statement.

Elise Hill, a spokesman for the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, which runs Santee, said that it was believed to be the first gender-neutral school restroom in a public school in the state and among only a few nationwide.

Los Angeles Unified School District is the second largest U.S. public school district, with more than 1,000 schools and educational centers, plus 53 affiliated charter schools.

So-called 'bathroom bills' like the one passed in North Carolina have fueled debate about privacy, religious freedom and equal rights.

They have also drawn stern reactions from major corporations and entertainers who call them discriminatory.

North Carolina Republican Governor Pat McCrory earlier this week tweaked his the law with an executive order, adding protections against discrimination for state employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Companies such as PayPal Holdings and Deutsche Bank have halted plans to add jobs in the state after McCrory and top Republican lawmakers said they would not repeal the measure.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, has signed an anti-discrimination order protecting the rights of gay and transgender state employees and employees of state contractors.