Students told Human Rights Watch that they spend an enormous amount of energy figuring out how to get to and from school safely, avoiding the hallways when other students are present in order to escape slurs and shoves, and cutting gym classes to escape being beaten up-in short, attempting to become invisible. The harassment takes a serious toll on these students' emotional and physical health and on their academic studies. Some drop out of school. Others commit suicide. A growing number are demanding that school administrations ensure their safety and that they be allowed to organize gay-straight student groups.
Every state requires youth to attend school.
Yet only a handful of states have enacted legislation to protect students from harassment and violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This leaves the vast majority of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students vulnerable to abuse. And the consequence is that they are not getting an education. State legislatures should enact laws to protect students from harassment and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The U.S. Department of Education should monitor school districts for compliance with the principle of nondiscrimination, intervene where policies are failing, and include sexual orientation and gender identity in data collection tools measuring discrimination in education.