LGBTQ youth report that their school climate felt more hostile during the 2024–2025 school year due to an anti-LGBTQ+ political climate, with trans and gender-expansive students disproportionately affected by harassment and discrimination, according to Glisten’s National School Climate Survey.
Glisten, an LGBTQ rights advocacy group, surveyed 2,800 LGBTQ students across the U.S between April and October 2024, and organized focus groups in June and July of 2025 with 36 students who were underrepresented in the previous sample.
The survey also found that two-thirds of students reported feeling unsafe due to their sexual orientation or gender identity and that nearly two-thirds of students faced verbal, physical or online harassment because of their sexual orientation or gender. Nearly half of LGBTQ+ students of color also said they faced harassment due to race or ethnicity.
“Faced with such difficulties, we asked our focus group participants one crucial question: What can my school do to be more safe and affirming?” the report stated. “And they had a common response: schools need to support them in concrete ways.”
For example, students said schools must take reports of bullying seriously, teach subjects like sex education inclusively and respectfully of trans and intersex identities and highlight queer lives across all subjects in school.
Students reported a higher sense of belonging when they had supportive educators, anti-bullying policies that explicitly mention sexual orientation and gender identity, LGBTQ+ inclusive learning and the presence of LGBTQ alliance groups. They also emphasized the importance of peer connection and friendship in schools.
“Safety is not just the absence of harm; it is active affirmation,” the report stated.