The landscape for LGBTQ+ students in many states is becoming increasingly hostile. As of late February 2025, lawmakers in 48 states had introduced some seeking to roll back rights or legal protections for transgender people. Last year鈥檚 entire legislative session saw a total of 641 such measures, indicating an in bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

These proposed laws encompass a range of restrictions, including bans on participation by transgender students in sports teams that align with their gender identity; restrictions on gender-affirming medical treatments such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers for transgender minors; measures that deny or complicate the legal recognition of transgender individuals’ gender identities; and policies that require schools to inform parents if a student identifies as LGBTQ+, potentially exposing young people to unsupportive or hostile environments at home.

The stakes are high. According to The Trevor Project鈥檚 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, LGBTQ+ youth in affirming schools reported significantly than those in non-affirming environments. A separate study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health demonstrated that the presence of gay-straight alliances in schools was associated with among both LGBTQ+ and heterosexual students.

Despite these clear benefits, the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation threatens to undermine the progress that has been made. These policies don鈥檛 merely restrict; they harm. LGBTQ+ youth already face disproportionate rates of bullying, mental health challenges and social isolation. Limiting affirming spaces and discussions only compounds these challenges, leaving vulnerable students with fewer resources and less hope.

Research is unequivocal about the importance of inclusive environments. Students in supportive schools have better academic outcomes, improved mental health and lower rates of substance abuse. A study by GLSEN found that LGBTQ+ students in schools with comprehensive policies feel , experience less victimization, and have a greater sense of belonging. have also that LGBTQ+ students in schools with anti-bullying policies that specifically mention sexual orientation or gender identity reported less homophobic victimization and greater psychosocial adjustment over time than students in schools without such policies.

Creating these inclusive environments isn鈥檛 just beneficial for LGBTQ+ students 鈥� it enriches the educational experience for all. It teaches empathy, broadens perspectives and prepares students for a diverse world. The skills learned in an inclusive environment 鈥� respect for differences, effective communication and conflict resolution 鈥� are invaluable in any future career or personal relationship. And schools that implement these measures report better outcomes for all students.

As the socio-political climate becomes increasingly charged, it鈥檚 vital for schools to stand as beacons of safety and acceptance. They must adopt and enforce inclusive policies, provide professional development for staff on LGBTQ+ issues and support gay-straight alliances and similar student organizations. Parents and community members can play a crucial role by advocating for these measures and holding schools accountable for their implementation.

This is a call to action: to ensure that every student, regardless of identity, feels seen, heard and valued. The time to act is now. Young people are owed safe spaces where they can thrive, free from fear and filled with the promise of a brighter, more inclusive future. This mission also intersects with broader struggles for equity and justice across other marginalized identities, including racial, ethnic and socio-economic groups. 

To create these inclusive spaces, especially in the face of such restrictive legislation, GLSEN offers these resources and recommendations:

• Implement comprehensive anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policies that explicitly protect LGBTQ+ students.
  
• Provide professional development for staff on LGBTQ+ issues and creating inclusive classrooms.
  
• Support student-led clubs like gay-straight alliances.
  
• Include LGBTQ+ history and perspectives in the curriculum, where possible.
  
• Display visible signs of support, such as Safe Space stickers or posters.

School is where young people spend most of their waking hours. Students worrying about bullying or hiding their true self can’t fully engage in learning. That’s why focusing on academics alone overlooks the critical role that a sense of belonging and safety plays in a student’s ability to learn. But when students feel supported and accepted for who they are, their academic and personal development flourishes. 

How can educators and parents support this crucial cause? Start conversations in local communities about the importance of inclusivity by organizing public forums or joining school board meetings to advocate for inclusive policies. Collaborate with local organizations to raise awareness and foster dialogue on LGBTQ+ issues. Attend school board meetings and advocate for comprehensive policies. Support organizations like GLSEN, that provide resources and training. Seek out (demand!) professional development opportunities to better support your LGBTQ+ students.

The need for LGBTQ+ inclusive school environments is more urgent than ever. In the face of discriminatory legislation, schools can and must be a beacon of hope and acceptance. Creating these safe spaces not only improves outcomes for LGBTQ+ youth 鈥� it fosters a broader cultural and social understanding in schools, benefiting all students by cultivating empathy and mutual respect.

, Michigan Democrats are pushing legislation they say would make history curriculums in K-12 public schools more culturally inclusive.

The most significant bill would require all public school districts in the state to include at least one unit of instruction a year on the histories of African, Latino, Arab, and Native Americans, among other racial and cultural groups, in their curricula. The lessons would be included in existing history classes by the 2027-28 school year and cover the discrimination the groups have faced and their fights for civil rights.

Another bill would require all teachers in the state complete cultural competency training that covers issues like implicit bias and the importance of inclusion in education.

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鈥淎midst the recent national wave restricting what can be taught in classrooms, we have the opportunity now in Michigan to support and stand with teachers who want to do right by their students and teach comprehensive and accurate history,鈥� Henry Duong, who leads , a campaign that has advocated for inclusive history instruction since 2022, said in a prepared statement.

Rep. Ranjeev Puri, a Democrat from Canton who co-sponsored the legislation, said the new curriculum goes beyond teaching history.

鈥淲e are fostering empathy, cultural awareness, and the critical thinking skills our students need to thrive in an interconnected world,鈥� he said.

but failed to move forward.

Despite that, the proposed curriculum was piloted in some schools this year. The Michigan Department of Education, or MDE, also began developing guidelines for the curriculum this year.

Here is what the package of bills would do:

• Require school districts ensure existing history classes include at least one unit of instruction on the histories of African Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Latino Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Caribbean Americans, Native Americans, Arab Americans, Chaldean Americans, North African Americans, and Jewish Americans. The requirement would begin in the 2027-28 school year and would apply to all public K-12 schools in the state.
• Require the lessons include contributions made by those communities, the discrimination they have faced, and advancements in their civil rights. The lessons would be crafted to be age appropriate.
• Call on the MDE to create instructional material that would be available to schools to use as guidelines for lessons.
• Require educators to receive cultural competency training, which would cover issues such as implicit bias, the importance of inclusion, and the struggles experienced by communities of color. The MDE would be required to create the professional development material and make it available to schools by June 2026.
• Require all educators who have contact with students to complete the training by the 2027-28 school year.
• Create a cultural history advisory board within the MDE to provide recommendations on the K-12 curriculum and professional development material. The members of the board would be appointed by the superintendent of public instruction and would include people from all of the communities represented in the proposed curriculum as well as educators, experts, and stakeholders.

Three of the bills in the package were introduced at the end of November in the Senate and the other three were introduced in the House this week. They have all been referred to education committees in the legislature.

The bills would need to clear several hurdles before becoming law by the end of the session.

Democrats are working to move their legislative priorities forward before the end of the year, .

The party鈥檚 other remaining legislative education goals include , , and .

This story was originally by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

At this year鈥檚 summer Paralympics in Paris, earned a silver medal in the F64 shot put. She also competed in the F64 discus event and came in 10th place. F64 is a for Paralympians with limb deficiencies and leg length differences.

鈥淲ith able-bodied kids, they can use their body differently,鈥� Middleton, a sophomore at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, The Daily Bulletin in an interview last year. 鈥淭hey have both of their legs. They can do certain things a lot stronger. But it doesn鈥檛 matter because I can still compete with them.鈥� 

Middleton is one of three inspiring high school Paralympians on Team USA who are competing in Paris this year. Here are their stories:

ARELLE MIDDLETON, 16

Middleton was with a congenital femoral deficiency, which means her left leg is shorter than her right leg and her left hip is underdeveloped. Despite physical challenges, she competes alongside athletes without disabilities in track and field high school meets.

In 2023, when Middleton was just 15 years old, she was named U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School Female Field Athlete of the Year, and also a spot on the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School All-American list.

Her mother, former WNBA player Sandra Van Embricqs, encouraged Middleton to get involved in sports at an early age.

Middleton joined the Challenged Athletes Foundation, or CAF, at age 12 and frequently won competitions. But when she entered high school, her mother strongly encouraged her to join the Los Osos track and field team.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know how I would feel being with able-bodied kids,鈥� Middleton told The Daily Bulletin. 鈥淭hey wouldn鈥檛 really understand as much as kids with a disability would understand, but I met some great people here. It鈥檚 good to be part of something with your school.鈥�

The Paralympian plans to compete in both wheelchair basketball and track and field after she graduates in 2026. She believes cross-training will benefit her performance in each sport.

Several college basketball programs have already Middleton.

JORDAN WHITE, 15

At 15 years old, Jordan White is the youngest archer from the U.S. to for the Paralympics this summer. 

A sophomore at Hill Country Christian School of Austin, White鈥檚 math teacher Christopher Felleisen calls him a 鈥減henomenal student.鈥�

He鈥檚 also a quick learner. The Austin, Texas, native tried archery for the first time less than four years ago when he was looking for a new activity to keep him busy during COVID. He has since won six national records. And less than a year ago, he began working toward competing in Paris.

White was with a right leg that is shorter than the left, challenging his flexibility. He dedicates six to seven days a week to perfecting his form, strength, and mental agility and understands the role he plays in enhancing the representation of people with disabilities in archery. 

鈥淚 really hope that I can pave the way for other young disabled archers,鈥� he Hill Country News in August.

鈥淛ordan is a hard worker, asks great questions and is an extremely high achiever,鈥� Felleisen told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 exciting about having Jordan in class is that he鈥檚 dedicated to doing well and it鈥檚 seen in his athletic performance, but his level of achievement is not very different in the classroom.鈥�

White, who is part of a close-knit group of friends known as the 鈥楲unch Bunch,鈥� takes part in his  high school鈥檚 engineering pathway program, which focuses on engineering and robotics classes. He鈥檚 also a member of the National Junior Honor Society and the yearbook staff. 

鈥淗e鈥檚 known for being incredibly intelligent and he鈥檚 at the top of all his classes, and everyone knows it,鈥� added his academic and college advisor Jessica Pyo.

His teachers say they鈥檙e closely following his performance at the Paralympics.

鈥淚t looks like he鈥檚 having a lot of fun and this is a great story for him to tell, especially with college applications coming soon.鈥� Pyo said.

MAYLEE PHELPS, 17

At just 17, Maylee Phelps has taken wheelchair tennis by storm and has secured a win in the first round of women鈥檚 singles in Paris. 

Phelps, a high school junior in Portland, Oregon, was with spina bifida, a condition where the spinal cord does not develop properly. This requires her to wear a leg brace and use a wheelchair.

The Paralympian began competing nationally at age 12, the International Tennis Federation鈥檚 Wheelchair Tennis Junior of the Year in 2023 and she scored the No. 1 position on the Cruyff Foundation Girls鈥� Junior Ranking. 

Phelps her homeschool schedule with at least five days a week of tennis practice and strength training. 

鈥淪he just absorbs,鈥� U.S. national wheelchair tennis coach John Devorss the University of Oregon. 鈥淵ou tell her something and it just takes a few times and she鈥檚 correcting it herself, which is a great characteristic of any athlete is just be really coachable.鈥�

Phelps and Devorss train in Salem, Oregon, which is more than an hour south of Phelps鈥� home in Portland. 

In her free time, the tennis player enjoys puzzles and playing with her dog Otis. She also volunteers at Shriners Hospital for Children, introducing children with disabilities to tennis.

When it comes to providing play opportunities to children with disabilities, not all playgrounds are created equal. On most playgrounds in the United States, complex play structures with lots of stairs and uneven ground coverings like woodchips or gravel make play inaccessible to kids who depend on mobility aids like wheelchairs or walkers. Traditional swings or narrow slides are inaccessible to kids who need a caregiver鈥檚 support or the extra safety feature of a harness to use them.

While all new or renovated playgrounds stemming from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), ADA compliance is only a bare minimum standard. An ADA-compliant playground might have an accessible entrance and transfer stations 鈥� spaces where a child in a wheelchair can pull themselves onto a play structure. But even with those features, many kids will still find themselves relegated to only parts of the playground and unable to enjoy many of its play features. The result is that crucial play opportunities remain limited or even unavailable to the disabled kids in the United States.

Recognizing the limits of traditional playgrounds, some designers and city administrators have begun making efforts to go beyond basic access and ensure that more kids with various disabilities are included in playground design 鈥� through a philosophy of radical inclusion.

鈥淭here鈥檚 [always] a strong focus on ramps and stairs,鈥� says Nathan Schleicher, lead playground designer at , an organization that designs and builds custom playgrounds. 鈥淩amps, stairs, and surfacing ended up being what define [an accessible] play space. But none of those things are play elements. We can do better than ramps, stairs, and surfacing. We can do better to be inclusive.鈥�

A on St. Pete Pier in St. Petersburg, Florida, is an award-winning example of inclusive playground design. For the team behind the project, building an inclusive space meant making it 鈥渨heelchair accessible from bottom to top,鈥� explains David Hugglestone, Senior Capital Projects Coordinator at the City of St. Petersburg.

The playground at St. Pete Pier has a mythical ocean and beach theme, complete with wooden sea turtles, larger-than-life starfish, and a pink and yellow kraken. 鈥淭he design, from the beginning, included play opportunities both inside and underneath things like the kraken 鈥� its tentacles and its head,鈥� says Hugglestone. 鈥淵ou can crawl into and under it. If you鈥檙e able to climb, you can climb the exterior of it. But even kids who may be in a wheelchair can be pushed in underneath.鈥�

Jennifer Allen says that when her family visited the playground on vacation earlier this year, her 5-year-old son, who uses a wheelchair, navigated it easily. 鈥淚t was a safe place for him to play tag or other running sports,鈥� she says. Her two other kids, ages 4 and 9, loved the playground, too. For the Allens, 鈥渁n inclusive playground means family play, [giving] my kids the opportunity to play together like siblings should.鈥�

As cities focus on making playgrounds more inclusive, they鈥檙e also making them more inviting and more natural. The one-of-a-kind themed playground in St. Petersburg is also an excellent example of a welcoming community space. It has ample meeting places, complete with colorful oversized beach chairs for families to gather and lounge in, and was built using lots of natural materials, from its wood play structures to its rope climbing zones.

鈥淭he kids loved it and were wowed when they saw all the various spots to play on,鈥� says Tonya Whitten, a local mother of three, whose 9-year-old and 5-year-old fell in love with the St. Pete Pier playground when the family first visited. While the older kids played, Whitten rested in a seating area with her 5-month-old baby. She says she looks forward to coming back as her youngest grows to take advantage of the scaled play zones that make the playground suitable for children of all ages.

Across the country in San Francisco, access, inclusion, and the incorporation of natural elements have gone hand in hand. There, , a partnership between the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and the San Francisco Parks Alliance, is hard at work transforming thirteen of the city鈥檚 most timeworn parks. Seven of the thirteen parks have been completed thus far, with the remaining six scheduled for completion by 2022. The renovated parks boast smooth surfaces for safety, accessible swings and sandboxes, double-wide slides, and abstract play structures built from natural materials.

The shift toward inclusive playgrounds has happened thanks in large part to collaborative and community-led design processes. 鈥淭he most successfully designed playgrounds, in my experience, that tackle challenging accessibility issues, tackled them very early on in the design,鈥� says Susanna Fraker, a project manager with the San Francisco Parks Alliance.

In San Francisco, tackling questions about accessibility meant partnering with an ADA coordinator and hosting a series of meetings where community members could give input on playground design throughout the process.

Similarly, in St. Petersburg, the city partnered with the local (CAPI), a group committed to ensuring the voices of the disability community are represented in city projects.

鈥淭he committee was asked to review the design of the playground and all equipment and features and provide input and ideas,鈥� with the goal of ensuring 鈥渆qual access, equal participation and equal enjoyment鈥� to all members of the St. Petersburg Community, explains Lendel Bright, ADA and Diversity Coordinator at the City of St. Petersburg and liaison to CAPI.

The challenges that both cities faced were what Fraker calls the 鈥減ush and pull鈥� of balancing the goal of radical inclusion with things like space and budget constraints. Wide pathways or transfer stations that make playgrounds maneuverable for wheelchair-users also take up a lot of space. Added accessible entrances and the one-of-a-kind equipment that make inclusive playgrounds so wonderful can also be expensive. 鈥淭he fun part,鈥� says Fraker, is when 鈥済iven the space and budget constraints, designers come up with creative and fully-integrated solutions. It鈥檚 not a burden to the project. If anything, it adds play value.鈥�

Schleicher says there鈥檚 also a growing understanding that playgrounds are important community gathering places and vital to childhood development. Investing in them just makes sense. 鈥淲e put that investment into our landscape architecture and architecture. But we don鈥檛 necessarily put that investment in our children鈥檚 architecture and our children鈥檚 spaces. But there is a growing awareness that we can do better.鈥�

At the playgrounds in both St. Petersburg and San Francisco, efforts to ensure radical inclusion have been more than worthwhile. 鈥淭he minute we opened up [the St. Pete Pier Playground] and saw kids playing on it, it was worth every penny,鈥� says Hugglestone.

鈥淚 think it is extraordinarily wonderful that there is a playground for every child [in St. Petersburg],鈥� says Whitten. 鈥淚t is a very rewarding feeling to see your child having the time of their lives playing on a playground and every child deserves that.鈥�

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