We are seeing a frightening pattern of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation aimed towards the realm of education within the past few years. Aside from the more than 300 anti-queer bills currently proposed, the most prominent anti-queer legislation in recent times has been Florida’s HB 1557, known was the “Don’t Say Gay” law. This law prevents teachers from discussing topics regarding sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade. This means that not only are such subjects barred from classrooms, but teachers are are also prohibited from discussing these matters with students who ask for support outside of class times. Even more frightening, these laws which currently only target queer folks in education become a form of sanctioned discrimination. The passage of laws such as Florida HB 1557 therefore set a precedent for sanctioned discrimination, and makes it foreseeable that such legislation might spread to other aspects of life as well.

A school curriculum is a statement of what topics are important to learn, and what are not. The subjects that are taught go even further, regarding some knowledges as more valuable than others based on what is or isn’t taught. In this way, bias runs rampant in our education systems. When school districts and governments decide to restrict when and what forms of LGBTQ+ topics are taught, this sends a very clear message on what they deem as more important (usually the cis-heteronormative option). When schools do include topics on queer and trans issues, they can still do great harm to those students. There is, of course, the risk of provoking bullying within the classroom. However, even a classroom which ensures tolerance and fosters open discussion, can still cause harm. For example, a yearlong study at a midwestern high school of a well-structured and well-intended English class, found that queer and trans students in the class were tokenized as representatives of their identity, and in turn, dehumanized as resources for reason rather than real people.

The focus of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and policy on education is especially frightening, and could even be considered an attempt to erase queer folks from history. Recently, these policies have even included “book bans” attempting to remove books from schools which depict queer and trans folks, especially children and young adults. These policies often take the guise of protecting children from sexually explicit or graphic content, or exposure to highly politicized issues. Beyond books, laws at the state level in states like Alabama, Arizona, and Louisiana explicitly prohibit the “promotion” of homosexuality in schools. Some even mandate that sexual health education inform students that it is not an acceptable or sustainable “lifestyle”. Laws like these legally require queer erasure, sometimes even utilizing the position of teachers to enforce students conform to heteronormativity - meaning that they should be and act “straight”.

With differences in state laws and school curriculums, not all schools have a comprehensive sexual education, or any education on queer and trans issues at all. It is in these schools especially where clubs and student organizations are an integral part of the support system for LGBTQ+ students. In some cases they are an oasis for emotional support, reminding students that there is nothing wrong with them, and that they are not struggling alone. In other cases, these groups even act as supplementary education, discussing queer sex-ed and the history of queerness and gender-diversity. For Makayla Brown, a 14-year-old queer and nonbinary black artist at a Florida high school, the school’s READI (Rainbow Education Alliance for Diverse Individuals) club is a safe space where queer and trans students can learn about their identities and connect with their communities. Beyond academic and professional development, they say that when they joined the club, “It felt nice to finally have a space to be myself around people who would listen and understand me.”. Read more about Makayla’s story here.

An article published in the November edition of the journal of Sexuality Research and Social Policy examines the connection between anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and public health, especially as it relates to education and the U.S. public school system. One of the most obvious connections between these laws and public health, is their potential to increase chronic stress of queer folks, especially at the intersection of race and queerness. A prolonged increase in stress such as this could increase the likelihood of stress-induced conditions such as cardiovascular disease and hypertension, and contribute to other such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. In addition, this pushes queer folks towards the use of substances to combat this stress and anxiety, and can encourage these already risky behaviors.