Glisten, the LGBTQ+ education advocacy group, has a new report out detailing what it’s like to be an LGBTQ+ student today, “at a time when their identities are being weaponized against them.”

Those identities “are being debated and restricted,” said the group’s CEO, Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, and “this study speaks truth to a menacing power.”

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Speaking the truth in this year’s report were the students themselves; for the first time, Glisten conducted focus groups to hear the kids describe their answers in their own words.

Key findings paint a layered portrait of LGBTQ+ youth who “are whole people with complex lives that defy the tired boxes of ‘victim’ or ‘leader’ into which they are so often placed,” Willingham-Jaggers said.

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While support systems are being dismantled – the elimination of GSAs at some schools, restrictive bathroom policies at others, and policies debating the very existence of some students or their peers in the form of gender-affirming care bans and bans on trans student-athletes – LGBTQ+ students are picking up the slack to support one another, the report found.

“It’s nice to just be friends with someone that’s also queer,” said a Latine 10th grader in New York. “We will come together as a little community, and we protect one another from the bullying.“

Support from those in positions of power, and proactive policies accompanying that support, however, may make the biggest difference in how LGBTQ+ students experience school, the report showed.

LGBTQ+ students with access to more supportive educators, anti-bullying policies that explicitly mention sexual orientation and gender identity, LGBTQ+-inclusive learning, and GSA presence reported a higher sense of belonging and higher GPAs, the survey revealed.

The good news is that about 70% of LGBTQ+ students reported having six or more adults at school they could count on for support. These adults help by displaying “safe space” stickers, advising GSAs, or giving LGBTQ+-inclusive lessons, among other actions.

That support, in turn, led to better student outcomes, including a lower likelihood of absenteeism due to safety concerns, less harassment or assault, higher GPAs, and a sense of belonging among LGBTQ+ students.

“Safety is not just the absence of harm; it is active affirmation,” Willingham-Jaggers said.

“To at least have one adult in the school that really reached out to me,” said one Latine 10th grader in New York, “to just have someone that will listen, I really appreciated that.”

But the kids were also very aware of educators’ behavior that negatively affected them, whether intentionally or not.

“One of my teachers, he doesn’t add on to the racist remarks,” said an Asian 11th grader from New York, but “tends to just laugh it off and say, ‘Oh, I’m going to report you,’ but then never actually do anything.”

“Teachers are definitely a big, big part of fixing the system,” they added.

However, those teachers themselves seem to be straining in the current hostile political environment.

“My school doesn’t have any openly LGBT teachers,” said a 17-year-old in rural Rhode Island. “That’s a little bit reflective of how it feels to be a teacher in our education system right now, where they can’t fully reveal something like that because… they can be seen as like you’re trying to push an agenda.”

In one instance, not rocking the boat seemed a better alternative for a school official, according to an intersex 12th grader in Mississippi.

“I was able to graduate, but not walk across the stage because they had a specific dress code,” they said. “One for males, one for females. And I asked an administrator what I should do, and he told me just not to go.”

The report also found that two in three students reported feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, while just one in three LGBTQ+ participants “frequently” or “often” look forward to school.

LGBTQ+ youth reported that their school climate felt more hostile during the 2024-2025 school year due to politics; more than half of respondents (53%) said they faced LGBTQ+-related discrimination, including some being prevented from using a locker room consistent with their gender.

“Within our focus groups, transfemme students experienced both unclear policies and weak implementation, intersex students reported harmful representation in sex-ed, and Black LGBTQ+ participants often felt disconnected from GSAs,” the report’s authors said.

58% of LGBTQ+ students reported feeling somewhat or very safe overall in school, while 67% of LGBTQ+ respondents and 71% of trans and gender-expansive students felt unsafe at some point due to their identity.

“Though these findings are just a snapshot of their school experiences, our hope is that they present a realistic and holistic view of the K-12 school climate for LGBTQ+ students in our study,” Willingham-Jaggers said. “We aim to present these complexities, especially the strengths and aspirations of LGBTQ+ youth, so that they feel seen, heard, and valued.”

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