Alarming new data shows LGBTQ+ students in the United States are twice as likely to drop out of high school as their straight peers, a brain drain that could cost the U.S. economy more than $30 billion.
More than one in 10 LGBTQ+ students in the U.S. are projected to drop out of school at some point, according to researchers for Theirworld, a global children’s charity.
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That number is more than twice the national average, researchers say.
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The study analyzed education figures for 38 members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an international group that works to promote policies that improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.
The team applied data modelling on OECD and official government statistics across all 38 OECD member countries to estimate the drop-out rates among LGBTQ+ students.
The projections show a dropout rate of between 8.3% and 14% for LGBTQ+ high school students in the U.S., with a median of 11.6%. That number compared to 5.7% for all students who dropped out.
“Historically, it has been difficult to pinpoint drop-out rates among LGBTQ+ students, so this data is likely to come as a shock to many,” said Justin van Fleet, PhD, lead researcher of the study and president of Theirworld.
“To see that so many LGBTQ+ students may not make it through the education system is incredibly alarming.”
The projection suggests more than 650,000 LGBTQ+ students aged 12-17 in the U.S. are at risk of not completing high school.
The economic consequences could be enormous, researchers said, for both the drop-outs and the U.S. economy: each graduating class of LGBTQ+ students who leave school early costs the U.S. economy up to $706 million.
Over a working lifetime, that adds up to more than $30 billion for each cohort of students not graduating.
Three countries — Poland, Canada, and South Korea — had lower drop-out rates for LGBTQ+ students than the U.S.
Mexico had the highest, with a 40% drop-out rate overall and a median 80% drop-out rate for LGBTQ+ students.
The startling U.S. figures build on earlier research by the charity, which revealed widespread bullying and discrimination of LGBTQ+ students in U.S. high schools, which may explain part of the reason they’re more receptive than their peers to abandoning the educational system altogether.
More than half (52%) of LGBTQ+ youth in the U.S. say they’ve faced hostility in educational settings, with 13% saying they were bullied by teachers or school administrators. More than a third (38%) do not think U.S. schools are safe environments for LGBTQ+ students. 29% reported their personal school experience as negative.
“It’s astonishing that young people identifying as LGBTQ+ are finding schools to be places of discrimination instead of tolerance, understanding, and safety,” said Theirworld President van Fleet.
“When we fail to nurture all young people, we face not only a moral dilemma, but serious economic consequences.”
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