NAccording to a survey released Wednesday, one in three LGBTQ+ students already say their school has at least one anti-LGBTQ+ policy.
The survey was conducted by the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization that provides 24/7 crisis support for LGBTQ+ youth. About 18,000 LGBTQ+ youth ages 13 to 24 were asked about issues such as allowing students to use their chosen name or pronouns and use locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity.
Many anti-LGBTQ+ policies in schools target student access to support services and disadvantaged spaces, but others were much broader, limiting conversations about LGBTQ+ issues both in and outside of class. Schools with at least one anti-LGBTQ policy were also less likely to have a Gay-Straight Alliance – a student-run club designed to be a safe space for queer people – or a gender-neutral restroom, according to the survey. Seven percent of respondents also said their school used to have a Gay-Straight Alliance, but no longer offers one.
The new survey complements another survey released in May by the Trevor Project that found 40% of LGBTQ+ youth have seriously considered attempting suicide in the last year. The latest study did not re-measure suicidal ideation, but found that LGBTQ+ students who attended more supportive school environments had a lower risk of suicide and showed fewer depressive symptoms than queer youth who attended less supportive schools. Attending a school with anti-LGBTQ+ policies also meant students were more likely to face verbal and physical attacks, as well as unwanted sexual contact, based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
“These alarming findings demonstrate that anti-LGBTQ+ school policies have real consequences for the mental health, well-being and overall safety of LGBTQ+ youth,” Ronita Nath, vice president of research at the Trevor Project, told TIME. “Young people learn harmful and discriminatory behavior from the adults, communities and institutions that raise them… When anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments are normalized in school environments, they become internalized by students, creating a culture of intolerance and hostility toward LGBTQ+ people in general.”
School districts and local legislatures have become hotbeds for culture wars in the U.S. At least eight states — including New Hampshire, North Carolina and Alabama — explicitly prohibit teaching about LGBTQ+ people or issues, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a nonprofit think tank. In contrast, only seven states have laws requiring LGBTQ+ inclusion in the state curriculum.
And while anti-LGBTQ+ policies impact the queer community as a whole, Nath said transgender and nonbinary students are disproportionately affected, being denied access to sports teams and bathrooms and facing parental information laws that require staff to inform parents or guardians of their child’s gender identity or pronouns. Other data from the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, looking at the broader impact of anti-LGBTQ+ policies, including outside the classroom, found that 93% of transgender youth ages 13 to 17 live in a state that has passed or is considering a law providing access to gender-affirming care, the ability to use pronouns that match students’ gender identity, and more.
Anti-LGBTQ+ policies appear to be more prevalent in certain regions. For example, the survey found that 34% of LGBTQ+ youth in the South reported attending a school that had at least one anti-LGBTQ+ policy—the highest rate nationwide—followed by the Midwest at 29%.
The impact of such measures is perhaps best seen in states like Florida, which Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, calls “the front line in the American fight against the far-right anti-LGBTQ agenda.” Governor Ron DeSantis made headlines in 2022 when he signed a law called “Don’t Say Gay” that would ban public schools from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity. (In March of this year, the state settled a lawsuit that allows students and school staff to write and speak about LGBTQ+ issues and people in class discussions, though the ban is still active as it relates to teaching.) A January 2023 study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law found that 88% of LGBTQ+ parents living in Florida were concerned about the impact of “Don’t Say Gay” on their children, and more than half of LGBTQ+ parents considered moving out of state because of the bill.
“Despite the claims of advocates of anti-LGBTQ+ policies, these efforts do not make school safer or better for any student. Instead, they prevent LGBTQ+ students from fully thriving in school and prevent school staff and allies from giving them the support they need,” Nath says. “Making schools accessible to LGBTQ+ students can provide young people with a life-saving sense of belonging.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or is having suicidal thoughts, call 988 or text. In case of emergency, call 911 or contact a local hospital or mental health professional.
