Two-thirds of LGBTQ+ students felt unsafe at some point because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, according to Glisten’s latest National School Climate Survey (NSCS). Glisten reminds us, however, that LGBTQ+ students are multi-faceted and shouldn’t be categorized simply as “victims” or “leaders.”
Glisten (formerly GLSEN) CEO Melanie Willingham-Jaggers said in a press statement:
At a moment when young people’s identities are being debated and restricted, this study speaks truth to a menacing power. We share this to make space for their brilliance and their dreams. 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.
Let’s take a closer look.
The Survey
Glisten conducted its 13th NSCS between April and October 2024, asking 2,800 LGBTQ+ students (including intersex, asexual, and two-spirit youth) in U.S. middle and high schools to reflect on the 2023-2024 school year. Glisten also organized focus groups in 2025 with 36 students who were underrepresented in its sample or in national LGBTQ+ research; they included Asian, Black, Latine, transfemme, intersex, disabled, and rural students, and ones in Southern states.
This latest survey was also updated based on input from Glisten-affiliated youth, with new questions that “center youth belonging, asking whether students look forward to school, and if they feel they can be their full selves in school.” There are more open-ended questions about how educators showed support, and what “LGBTQ+ joy in school” looks like. (For more on their methodology, see the full report.)
I’m not going to do a close comparison of this survey’s results with the previous one (2022), which was conducted online in 2021 after a unique school year hit by the COVID pandemic. I will note, however, that participants in the 2025 focus groups reported “increased hostility, bullying, and harassment” after the 2024 election, and felt schools were “frozen into inaction out of fear of being targeted or losing funding.”
There are people in high positions of authority…[who] have a lot of say over how young people think. When you hear…them saying some pretty horrible things, it normalizes it.
15-year-old in rural focus group
Glisten stresses, however, that, “Youth experiences in schools are multi-dimensional and they defy any effort to impose a singular narrative of either ‘targets’ and ‘victims’, or ‘leaders’ and ‘resilient’.” That’s well worth keeping in mind as we move from the aggregate data of the study towards engaging with youth in person and taking actions in our own communities.
Hostile Climates
More specifically, the latest survey found (among other things):
- 67% of respondents and 71% of trans and gender-expansive ones felt unsafe at some point due to their LGBTQ+ identity.
- 62% of respondents experienced verbal, physical, or online harassment/assault because of their sexual orientation; 68% reported the same due to their gender identity or expression.
- 63% of respondents often or frequently heard anti-LGBTQ+ comments from peers.
- 48% of LGBTQ+ respondents of color experienced verbal or physical harassment or assault due to race or ethnicity.
- Over half of respondents (53%) experienced LGBTQ+ related discrimination, which was linked to absenteeism, lower grades, worse mental health/self-esteem, and reduced sense of belonging.
Trans and gender-expansive students in particular also reported issues related to bathrooms and other access:
- 41% of trans and gender-expansive respondents were stopped or punished for using bathrooms aligned with their gender; 64% reported avoiding school bathrooms altogether.
- Additionally, 36% of trans and gender-expansive respondents were blocked from locker rooms and 22% from gender-aligned sports.
I might not go to the bathroom for the whole day because there were no clear policies, basically, like where trans students should go or could go.
18-year-old transfemme participant from Georgia
Limited Protections and Support
- While 83% of respondents said their schools had anti-bullying/harassment/assault policies, only one-third said they included sexual orientation and gender identity, and only 18% said their schools had policies supporting trans and nonbinary students. Students in schools that did have LGBTQ+-specific policies, however, were more likely to feel a stronger sense of belonging, skip fewer days, and report less LGBTQ+-based harassment.
- Only 40% of respondents often or frequently heard supportive comments from teachers.
- 27% of respondents who experienced harassment or assault never reported it to school staff. Less than half (43%) of those who did said staff took no action.
Erasure in Learning
- 62% of respondents reported no LGBTQ+ content in their classes.
- Only 27% saw positive inclusion; some saw mixed (4%) or negative depictions (7%).
- 75% of respondents received sex ed, but only 38% reported learning about LGBTQ+-related sex ed topics. Some intersex students also reported seeing harmful intersex representation in sex ed.
- Youth who received LGBTQ+-inclusive sex ed, however, reported higher levels of school belonging, and lower levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms.
On the Somewhat More Positive Side
- 58% of respondents reported feeling somewhat or very safe overall in school—a number that still feels far too low, although not as bad as it could be.
- 70% of respondents had six or more supportive staff, which was linked to a lower likelihood of absenteeism, less harassment or assault, and higher GPAs and sense of belonging.
- 75% of respondents said their school libraries provided LGBTQ+ readings, “making them a key resource.”
- 68% of respondents said their school had a GSA or other club supporting LGBTQ+ students. GSAs are often a “vital source of belonging.”
- Nevertheless, there is important nuance here. Black LGBTQ+ youth often felt disconnected from GSAs but found belonging in BSUs (Black student unions), while Latine students and those in rural areas reported strong leadership in GSAs.
“It’s nice to just be friends with someone that’s also queer…we will come together as a little community, and we protect one another from the bullying.”
15-year-old participant from New York, in Latine focus group
Work to be Done
The NSCS notes that “LGBTQ+ youth emphasized that safety in school means not only the absence of harm but also support and affirmation to be authentically themselves without self-censorship.”
Safety for me isn’t just no bullying. It’s being able to exist without shrinking myself.
18-year-old transfemme participant from Georgia
That means schools must take concrete actions to support LGBTQ+ youth. Based on youth responses in the NSCS, Glisten says schools should:
- Affirm and protect LGBTQ+ youth, including taking reports of bullying seriously.
- Provide staff trainings (particularly around trans, intersex, disabled, and BIPOC youth) and hold staff accountable for bigotry.
- Address bullying by peers through accountability, reflection, and family involvement.
- Enact LGBTQ+-inclusive school curricula across multiple subjects, and teach subjects like sex ed in ways that are inclusive and respectful of LGBTQ+ people and trans and intersex bodies.
- Support GSAs and student organizations, with school and staff involvement and support.
- Clarify and implement school policies and practices that include not only anti-bullying rules, but also affirming policies on bathrooms, sports, dress codes, names and pronouns, disability accommodations, rejection of book bans, and more.
See the full report and check out the resources at the end for useful tools to help make change.
I’ll also advise parents of LGBTQ+ youth (and LGBTQ parents) to stay involved with your children’s schools and try to keep the lines of communication with your kids as open as possible. Find supportive communities (like a Glisten or PFLAG chapter) and talk with trusted friends and advisors. Stay tuned in to local politics, too, taking part in school board meetings and even running for local office if your time and inclination allow (or if not, supporting candidates who share your values). At the very least, vote, even in purely local elections. These aren’t magic solutions, but they can help.
The NSCS remains a critical overview of the landscape, a powerful tool for advocacy, and a call to action. Thanks to everyone at Glisten who has helped to make it happen.
For a look at the school experiences of youth (LGBTQ+ and not) with LGBTQ parents, see the report that Glisten (as GLSEN), COLAGE, and Family Equality released in 2023.