Today, Glisten, the non-profit organization formerly known as GLSTEN that advocates for LGBTQ+ youth in K-12 education, released its 13th National School Climate Survey, which was conducted between April and October 2024, and found, among other things, that some two-thirds of the students surveyed reported feeling unsafe in their school.
A total of 2,800 LGBTQ+ students aged 13+ attending K-12 across the U.S. responded to the survey about their experiences during the 2023-2024 school year. Topics covered include the students’ experiences with safety, bullying and harassment, mental health, feelings of school belonging and self-esteem, participation in extracurricular school and community activities and academics.
“The NSCS encourages students navigating grades K-12 with courage, creativity, exhaustion and joy to express their opinions in order to educate the public on what creates a safe learning environment for all,” explained a press release announcing the survey results. “This year, Glisten expanded the study to include youth focus groups to ensure underrepresented youth groups, such as BIPOC, LGBTQ+ youth in Southern states, disabled youth and trans femme youth were included. Glisten organized these focus groups in June and July 2025 with groups of these students who may have been underrepresented in national LGBTQ+ research.”
The 13th National School Climate Survey includes the following key findings:
• 2 in 3 students reported feeling unsafe in school due to their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression in the 2023-2024 school year. Youth reported that their school’s climate felt more hostile during the 2024-2025 school year due to an anti-LGBTQ+ political climate.
• In the 2023-2024 school year, 86 percent of trans students avoided certain school areas, and 48 percent of BIPOC LGBTQ+ students faced harassment due to race or ethnicity.
• 62% of students experienced verbal, physical, and online harassment/assault because of their sexual orientation; 68 percent reported the same due to their gender identity or expression.
• 53 percent of respondents said they faced LGBTQ+-related discrimination, such as being prevented from using a locker room consistent with their gender identity.
• LGBTQ+ students with more supportive educators, anti-bullying policies that explicitly mention sexual orientation and gender identity, LGBTQ+inclusive learning and GSA presence report a higher sense of belonging and higher GPAs.
Glisten CEO Melanie Willingham-Jaggers said of the findings, “LGBTQ+ youth, including intersex, asexual and Two-Spirit students, are whole people with complex lives that defy the tired boxes of ‘victim’ or ‘leader’ into which they are so often placed.
“The most crucial question in our survey was in relation to safety at school,” she continued. “Safety is not just the absence of harm; it is active affirmation. At a moment when young people’s identities are being debated and restricted, this study speaks truth to a menacing power.”
Willingham-Jaggers continued, “To educators, families and policymakers: LGBTQ+ students are telling us what they need. The question is whether we are willing to listen and to build schools that don’t just tolerate them but actively affirm and protect their right to learn and belong.
“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 noted. “At a time when their identities are being weaponized against them, we aim to present these complexities, especially the strengths and aspirations of LGBTQ+ youth, so that they feel seen, heard, and valued.”
Dr. Yu-Chi Wang, School Climate Research manager, and Dr. Shweta Moorthy, director of Research and Best Practices, added, “This year, to find the why in our results, we formed collaborative focus groups that honed in on the personal stories these students had in addition to the overall averages in statistics we were seeing. Similar to previous NSCS findings, we continue to find that schools continue to be hostile sites for LGBTQ+ students and in particular for trans & gender expansive students and BIPOC students in terms of their experiences with safety, harassment, bullying, and discrimination.
“Prior years focused on the ‘bad’ things happening. This time we asked questions about positive aspects in their lived school experiences” Wang and Moorthy said. “Students provided us with more context and emotion behind our findings. These students answered hard, personal questions that helped us better understand what was happening in our schools and brainstorm ways we can improve it for K-12 LGBTQ+ youth.”
Visit the website to learn more about Glisten and to read direct survey findings.
— Tammye Nash