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Dive Brief:
- LGBTQ+ youth reported that their school climate felt more hostile during the 2024-25 school year due to the current political landscape, according to an annual survey by Glisten, a research and advocacy organization focused on LGBTQ+ issues in K-12.
- Two-thirds of students said they felt unsafe because of their LGBTQ+ identity, and over half of respondents said they faced LGBTQ+ related discrimination, such as being prevented from using locker rooms aligning with their gender identities.
- Some 41% of trans and gender-expansive students were stopped or punished for using bathrooms aligned with their gender identity, and 64% reported avoiding school bathrooms completely.
Dive Insight:
Only 1 in 3 LGBTQ+ students “frequently” or “often” look forward to school, with over 60% of students saying they experienced harassment or assault because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.
While LGBTQ+ students reported hostile school climates in 2024-25, the report found certain factors gave them a higher sense of belonging as well as higher GPAs. These include:
- Supportive educators.
- Anti-bullying policies related to sexual orientation and gender identity.
- LGBTQ+ inclusive learning.
- Affinity groups such as the Gay-Straight Alliance.
“Safety is not just the absence of harm; it is active affirmation,” said Glisten CEO Melanie Willingham-Jaggers in a Tuesday statement. “To educators, families, and policymakers: LGBTQ+ students are telling us what they need. The question is whether we are willing to listen and to build schools that don’t just tolerate them but actively affirm and protect their right to learn and belong.”
State or local policies in Republican-led areas that govern the measures schools can take to help LGBTQ+ students feel welcome, however, have made that difficult in recent years.
Many states have adopted policies restricting schools from allowing LGBTQ+ students to use facilities aligning with their gender identities, pronouns different from their sex at birth, or curriculum materials that would reflect their experiences.
At the same time, the U.S. Department of Education has cracked down on school policies that aim to make schools more welcoming for LGBTQ+ students — such as those allowing gender support plans, facility access or LGBTQ+-reflective pronoun usage — by threatening to withhold federal funds.
This week, for instance, the department opened a Title IX investigation into New Hampshire’s Contoocook Valley School District based on reports that transgender students were using facilities aligning with their gender identities. Title IX protects students from sex-based discrimination in school.
The investigation is the latest in a string of more than 30 similar probes since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term in office.
