Learn how you can use the National School Climate Survey results to create safer and more supportive environments for all LGBTQ+ students
 

Dear John,

Today, we are releasing the results of GLSEN’s 2019 National School Climate Survey. This is our 11th survey and it builds on 20 years of research on the school experiences of LGBTQ+ students nationally.

For two decades, the National School Climate Survey has provided advocates, organizers, policymakers, and other school stakeholders with urgent calls to action and a roadmap for progress. It has also sparked similar efforts in other countries around the globe.

In the midst of the twin pandemics, our schools are now tightly focused on how best to support the social-emotional wellbeing of our most vulnerable students. This new data is right on time.

Here are a few powerful findings that you can read more about in the survey.

Illustration of a pensive femme person of color who has purple hair and wears a black turtle neck and blue earrings. Against a lime background, pink and white text reads: 86% of LGBTQ students were harassed or assaulted at school.

Schools are not safe for LGBTQ+ students. More than half of those students never reported it to their school, most often because they doubted intervention would make things better.

Illustration of two people a femme Black person with locks who wears gold earrings and a gold eyebrow ring to the left of a light skinned person with shaggy brown hair wearing eyeliner. Against a blue background, green and white text reads: 2 in 5 LGBTQ students of color were bullied or harassed based on race or ethnicity.

Although rates of racist harassment were at an all-time low in 2019, racist language has become more and more common in schools.

Illustration of a Black person with short curly blonde hair wearing white glasses, red lipstick, pink earrings, and a black turtleneck. Against a magenta background, blue and white text reads: 84% of transgender students felt unsafe at school because of their gender.

Trans and nonbinary students face especially high rates of discrimination and victimization. They are denied access to school facilities and feel unsafe at school.

Illustration of a white person wearing a black sleeveless shirt and yellow bandana in their light brown hair. Against a blue background, yellow and white text reads: Discrimination means more missed school, lower GPAs, and lower self-esteem.

Students who face anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination or victimization were three times more likely to miss school in the past month, had lower grade point averages, and felt lower self esteem.

And there’s something else we know.
Against a black background, yellow and white text reads: 20 years of research shows that dedicated support for LGBTQ+ students works. A chart labeled “Victimization based on sexual orientation has decreased over time” and shows indicators for verbal harassment, physical harassment, and physical assault varying from 1999-2007 and decreasing from 2007-2019.

Twenty years of research shows that dedicated support from teachers and staff, LGBTQ+ inclusive school policies, and continued investments in resources relate to better school outcomes for LGBTQ+ students. For example, the 62% of LGBTQ+ students who said their school had a GSA in 2019 felt safer, were less likely to miss school, and were less likely to hear homophobic or transphobic remarks.

We hope you will read our report.

You can also join our webinar tomorrow to hear from experts about all the ways we can build support in schools for LGBTQ+ students.

Let’s make sure LGBTQ+ students get what they need. We want to change these statistics and build safer school environments and a better future for all students.

Eliza Byard
Executive Director
(she, her, hers)
 
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