From high-profile bullying incidents to book bans to state bills restricting transgender youth's access to health care and sports teams, the barrage of news about these events and policies is having a corrosive effect on the mental health of LGBTQ+ students. can.
But what educators don't fully understand is that this is true even if children don't appear to be directly affected by events or policies, said Amy Cannavva, a school psychologist and chair of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity Committee. National Association of School Psychologists.
After the death of Nex BenedictA non-binary teenager in Oklahoma died the day after he was involved in a fight in a school bathroom. The Indianapolis-based crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ people has seen a significant increase in calls and messages.This shows how much of an impact this incident had beyond the school community. Nex's family said the teen had been bullied and the state medical examiner ruled their deaths a suicide.
“Even if you’re not right next to an event or experience, you feel a kinship with that person because you share the commonality of being non-binary or LGBTQ,” Cannavva said. “As a result, they feel the impact of death so strongly that sometimes the older generation may not realize it, because they might think, ‘Well, you didn’t know them, so how could they be affected?’”
It's important for adults involved in the lives of LGBTQ+ children to understand how these events and the resulting news coverage and public debate affect them so they can better support them, Cannava said.
Surveys show that LGTBQ+ youth are deeply preoccupied with recent events that concern them, and it's important for adults, especially educators, to understand how far-reaching the impact of these events is and take action, Cannava said. To support LGBTQ+ students.
The Trevor Project’s 2023 LGBTQ+ Youth Survey, a non-profit organization focused on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth, found that 85% of LGBTQ+ youth pay some or a lot of attention to media coverage of LGBTQ+ rights. The survey included more than 28,000 LGBTQ+ youth ages 13 to 24 from across the country.
Nearly one in three LGBTQ+ youth say their mental health is poor most or all of the time due to policies and laws related to LGBTQ+ issues. And about two in three said hearing about potential laws banning discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in schools through the media or other sources made their mental health significantly worse. (Meanwhile, nearly 8 in 10 LGBTQ+ youth said they had heard about potential state laws banning conversion therapy. I feel better.)
Always evaluate safety.
News of anti-LGBTQ+ incidents and policies causes LGBTQ+ youth to continually evaluate their safety, said Madi Bourdon, a school counselor in Oregon and chair of the DEI and LGBTQ+ Committee for the American School Counselor Association. And the pace and volume of that news can start to feel overwhelming.
Consider, for example, that 526 bills related to transgender issues have been introduced in 41 state legislatures this year, including banning gender reassignment therapy for minors or banning trans students from participating in school sports teams that match their gender identity. Trans Legislation Tracker. These legislative developments are often covered extensively in local and national media and spark angry debate on social media.
Groups that track requests to remove books from schools and libraries found a record number of books were targeted last year, many of them related to LGBTQ+ issues. (A Washington Post analysis found that while many books are put back on the shelves after raising concerns, LGBTQ+ books are often permanently excluded.). It can be especially frustrating for LGBTQ+ youth when they read about this in the news or on social media.
Another recent analysis of FBI data by the Washington Post found that school hate crimes target LGBTQ+ people. It has risen sharply in recent years. And the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned last year that threats of violence against the LGBTQ community were on the rise..
“In the long run, this impacts children’s mental health and sense of belonging,” Bourdon said. “You can’t learn if you’re in a space where you feel threatened. So if they don’t feel safe in school, it directly impacts their education.”
The mental health of LGBTQ+ students is already at greater risk than their non-LGBTQ peers.
Federal data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer high school students were significantly more likely than their heterosexual peers to report feeling persistently sad and hopeless (69% compared to 35%). (The 2021 survey did not include data on transgender youth.)
There is data to suggest that what happens in politics and state legislatures also affects K-12 schools. From a Washington Post analysis:States that have enacted laws targeting LGBTQ+ people have seen the largest increases in hate crimes on K-12 campuses.
“A lot of the kids are looking up to us to see where the lines are,” Bourdon said. “How can other students exceed the moral standards of adults when the vigilance is not maintained at a high level to protect our children?”
How schools can respond
What can educators and schools do?
Schools' anti-bullying policies should list or specifically list groups of students who are at high risk or are vulnerable to bullying, NASP's Cannava said.
“We know that if a policy doesn’t list protected classes, including transgender, gay, lesbian, minority, bilingual, and disabled students, the power of that policy is weakened,” she said.
Students were less likely to be bullied and more likely to report that teachers intervened when they were bullied at school, according to a survey of LGBTQ+ high school students by GLSEN, a nonprofit advocacy organization focused on LGBTQ+ students in K-12 schools. It's high. Policy. However, GLSEN's most recent survey reported that three-quarters of students Only 12% said their school had an anti-bullying policy. Only 12% of students said the policy listed sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression.
School leaders also need to listen to students and parents and focus on whether anyone has been hurt, Cannava said.
“When students and parents report bullying, school districts may initially think this does not constitute bullying because it has not been repeated or there is no evidence of a power differential,” she said. “What matters to me is not whether it constitutes harassment, but that some form of harassment or harm occurred. And that should be the focus rather than focusing on whether it fits into a particular disciplinary category.”
Bourdon said allowing affinity groups, such as Gender and Sexuality Alliance Clubs (GSAs), is another way schools can support LGBTQ+ youth mental health.
Cannava said individual teachers can have the greatest impact by simply observing and communicating concerns to a school counselor, psychologist or social worker.
“Teachers have tremendous power for good,” she said. “They are usually the first line of defense against mental health issues.”
That's not to say teachers have a responsibility to provide mental health care, but they are more likely to see students every day and notice changes in a student's attitude or grades, Cannava said.
Cannaba said it is also helpful to post LGBTQ+-affirming messages or decorations in the classroom, even if they are subtle ones. She acknowledged that many teachers find themselves in a tricky position when it comes to openly supporting LGBTQ+ students in her classroom. Displaying a pride flag may violate school, district or state rules.
“I know there are a lot of places where LGBTQ people can’t be mentioned,” she said. “But there are also harmless symbols, like the rainbow crayon poster.”
Finally, teachers can support LGBTQ+ students by recognizing how the cumulative effect of experts, political rhetoric and online commentary about LGBTQ+-related issues is eroding children's mental health, Bourdon said.
“As educators, we need to know what’s going on to inform how we support our students,” she said. “Everything that is going on right now impacts not only the conversations in the classroom, but the school community as a whole. “It’s very important for educators to at least be aware of the things that impact our students.”