Experiences of Students with LGBTQ+ Families in K-12 Schools

In this report, GLSEN, COLAGE, and Family Equality aim to address a significant gap in our understanding of school climate by focusing on the experiences of harassment, bullying, discrimination, and/or hostile school climates for students who have LGBTQ+parent(s) or caregiver(s). These experiences are a crucial part of the larger tapestry of discrimination and bias that LGBTQ+ communities face at school and may contribute to a hostile learning environment, yet the phenomena is largely erased and ignored. Based on surveys we conducted with students and parents/caregivers in 2022, this study seeks to redress the erasure and undercounting of experiences of harassment, bullying, discrimination, and/or hostile school climates in school based on having an LGBTQ+parent or caregiver and to make visible the experience of LGBTQ+ families in our schools.