#glsen

Christopher Wiggins at The Advocate:

A new national survey of LGBTQ+ students finds most feel unsafe at school, with advocates warning that a mix of political pressure, inconsistent policies, and inaction by adults is reshaping classrooms across the country. The findings, released Tuesday and previewed last week at the National Education Association headquarters in Washington, D.C., come from the newly rebranded GLSEN, now known as Glisten, and its 2025 National School Climate Survey. Based on responses from 2,800 students, the report shows that nearly two-thirds of LGBTQ+ youth feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Only one in three said they regularly look forward to going to school. The survey also found that 86 percent of transgender and gender-expansive students avoided certain spaces at school, and 62 percent experienced harassment or assault tied to their sexual orientation.

[...] Advocates say the climate is shaped not only by harassment but by what they describe as a lack of response. Willingham-Jaggers pointed to what they call “negative neutrality,” where schools avoid addressing LGBTQ+ issues even when policies exist. “There’s a deafening silence,” they said, describing environments where students see rules on paper but little enforcement in practice.

The survey found that more than half of LGBTQ+ students reported discrimination at school, including being prevented from using facilities that align with their gender identity, while the majority experienced harassment tied to their identity. Nearly half of LGBTQ+ students of color also reported harassment based on race or ethnicity.