LGBTQ

Education news, analysis, and opinion about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer students or teachers and their experiences in school
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media, March 7, 2023, at the state Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. Students and teachers will be able to speak freely about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms under a settlement reached March 11, 2024 between Florida education officials and civil rights attorneys who had challenged a state law which critics dubbed “Don't Say Gay.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media, March 7, 2023, at the state Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. Students and teachers will be able to speak freely about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms under a settlement reached March 11, 2024, between Florida education officials and civil rights attorneys who had challenged the state's “Don't Say Gay” law.
Phil Sears/AP
Equity & Diversity What's Permissible Under Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law? A New Legal Settlement Clarifies
The Florida department of education must send out a copy of the settlement agreement to school boards across the state.
Ileana Najarro, March 12, 2024
4 min read
A photograph of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who died a day after a fight in a high school bathroom, is projected during a candlelight service at Point A Gallery, on Feb. 24, 2024, in Oklahoma City. Federal officials will investigate the Oklahoma school district where Benedict died, according to a letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education on March 1, 2024.
A photograph of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who died a day after a fight in a high school restroom, is projected during a candlelight service at Point A Gallery, on Feb. 24, 2024, in Oklahoma City. Federal officials will investigate the Oklahoma school district where Benedict died, according to a letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education on March 1, 2024.
Nate Billings/The Oklahoman via AP
Law & Courts Oklahoma Nonbinary Student's Death Shines a Light on Families' Legal Recourse for Bullying
Students facing bullying and harassment from their peers face legal roadblocks in suing districts, but settlements appear to be on the rise
Mark Walsh, March 6, 2024
11 min read
A man in a black baseball cap stands in front of a green building holding a lit candle and a sign that says: "You are seen. You are loved. #nexbenedict
Kody Macaulay holds a sign on Feb. 24, 2024, during a candlelight service in Oklahoma City for Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who died one day after a fight in a high school bathroom.
Nate Billings/The Oklahoman via AP
Equity & Diversity District Under Federal Investigation Following Death of Nonbinary Student Nex Benedict
A federal investigation into the Owasso, Okla., district follows the death of a nonbinary student last month.
Evie Blad, March 4, 2024
4 min read
Conservative groups and LGBTQ+ rights supporters protest outside the Glendale Unified School District offices in Glendale, Calif., on June 6, 2023. Several hundred people gathered in the parking lot of the district headquarters, split between those who support or oppose teaching about exposing youngsters to LGBTQ+ issues in schools.
Conservative groups and LGBTQ+ rights supporters protest outside the Glendale Unified school district offices in Glendale, Calif., on June 6, 2023.
Keith Birmingham/The Orange County Register via AP
Equity & Diversity Teachers Say They Have Little Influence in Curriculum Debates
New survey paints a complicated picture of where teachers stand in debates over instruction of topics of race and gender.
Ileana Najarro, February 22, 2024
4 min read
Internet And Social Media Speech Bubbles Concept
DigitalVision Vectors
Student Well-Being Q&A How Social Media May Benefit Teens' Mental Health
In an interview, a researcher outlines some of the less-discussed benefits teens get from their online activity.
Arianna Prothero, February 16, 2024
4 min read
People stand on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 11, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
People stand on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 11, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
Mariam Zuhaib/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Declines to Hear School District's Transgender Restroom Case
The case asked whether federal law protects transgender students on the use of school facilities that correspond to their gender identity.
Mark Walsh, January 16, 2024
4 min read
Santaluces High School teacher Michael Woods stands in front of his school sign in Lantana, Fla., wearing his protest shirt "We Are All Human" in opposition to recent book bans by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 24, 2023. DeSantis is touting a series of measures he has pushed that have led to an upswing in banned or restricted books — not just in Florida schools but in an increasing number of other conservative states.
Santaluces High School teacher Michael Woods, standing in front of his school in Lantana, Fla., on May 24, 2023, wears a protest shirt in the colors of the pride and transgender flags. Now, Florida is being sued over a law prohibiting teachers from using pronouns that don't align with their sex at birth.
Jim Rassol/AP
Law & Courts Florida Teachers Sue Over State Law Restricting Their Pronoun Use
The teachers seek to overturn the measure, which prohibits them from using gender-neutral honorifics or pronouns that don't match their sex at birth.
Madeline Will, December 18, 2023
5 min read
High school student Leo Burchell speaks at the Central Bucks School Board meeting about LGBTQ student rights in Doylestown, Pa., on Nov. 15, 2022. After hearing a man tell the school board that transgender people posed a risk of violence in bathrooms, Leo expected another adult in the room to interrupt what felt like hate speech. No one did. So at the next board meeting, Leo spoke up. “Attacking students based on who they are or who they love is wrong,” he said. Leo has spoken regularly at meetings since.
High school student Leo Burchell speaks at the Central Bucks School Board meeting about LGBTQ student rights in Doylestown, Pa., on Nov. 15, 2022. A student-led effort to create a "safe space" for students at a Lynchburg, Va., school was recently rejected by the school board.
Ryan Collerd/AP
Student Well-Being A High School LGBTQ+ Student Group Won a Grant. Then the School Board Vetoed It
Advocates said the board's vote was a setback for "student voice" efforts—as well as for LGBQT+ students.
Elizabeth Heubeck, December 15, 2023
6 min read
Bloomfield High School transgender athlete Terry Miller, second from left, wins the final of the 55-meter dash over transgender athlete Andraya Yearwood, far left, and other runners in the Connecticut girls Class S indoor track meet at Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Conn on Feb. 7, 2019.
Bloomfield High School transgender athlete Terry Miller, second from left, wins the final of the 55-meter dash over transgender athlete Andraya Yearwood, far left, and other runners in the Connecticut girls Class S indoor track meet at Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Conn., on Feb. 7, 2019.
Pat Eaton-Robb/AP
Law & Courts Lawsuit Over a Transgender School Sports Policy Revived by Federal Appeals Court
The 2nd Circuit court stressed that it was not deciding the underlying issue in the case of whether Title IX bars such a policy.
Mark Walsh, December 15, 2023
3 min read
Student Well-Being In Their Own Words LGBTQ+ Student Perspective: At School, ‘My Safety Didn’t Feel Like the Priority’
For Landon Callahan, mental health challenges and substance use became easier to manage once he came out as a transgender man.
Lauraine Langreo, October 16, 2023
5 min read
Student Well-Being In Their Own Words LGBTQ+ Student Perspective: ‘My School’s GSA Saved My Life’
Esmée Silverman came to the realization that they were transgender in high school, but thought about suicide constantly during their freshman year.
Lauraine Langreo, October 16, 2023
3 min read
Student Well-Being In Their Own Words LGBTQ+ Student Perspective: Mental Health Challenges ‘Come With the Territory’
Imani Sims says it's rare to come across fellow members of the LGBTQ+ community who do not have difficulties with their mental health.
Lauraine Langreo, October 16, 2023
4 min read
Illustration of a student holding a rainbow flag.
Laura Baker/Education Week and Nadia Bormotova/iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being ‘I Definitely Struggle With My Mental Health’: LGBTQ+ Students Share Their Stories
LGBTQ+ young people fare worse when it comes to their mental health. Three young adults open up about their struggles.
Lauraine Langreo, October 16, 2023
2 min read
Mental health solutions SR Lead 04
Laura Baker/Education Week and iStock/Getty
Special Report Tackling the Mental Health Crisis in Schools
Adolescents’ mental health is getting worse, and schools are on the front lines.
October 16, 2023