US survey: 59% of teachers in anti-trans states now banned from supporting students

New HRC data shows restrictive school policies don't just hurt LGBTQ+ kids — they muzzle the adults trying to keep them safe.

Told by Claire Lawson · 1 October 2026

The numbers are in, and they say what you already knew if you've been paying attention: LGBTQ+ kids in restrictive states are having a worse time at school, and the adults trying to help them are being told not to.

The Human Rights Campaign's new National Educator Survey on School Climate and Bullying, released 17 September, surveyed teachers across the US and found a chasm between states with supportive LGBTQ+ inclusion policies and those that have spent the last few years writing discrimination into law. In states with restrictive policies — the ones banning trans students from bathrooms, sports and occasionally existence in the building — 59% of educators now report restrictions on supporting transgender students. In supportive states, that figure is 6 to 8%.

That is not a rounding error. That is policy.

The gap widens everywhere you look

Nearly half — 50% — of educators in restrictive states reported limits on LGBTQ+ books or resources in their classrooms, compared to 7% in supportive states. Roughly a third said anti-LGBTQ+ harassment was a moderate or serious problem at their school, compared to 11% in supportive states. More than a third witnessed anti-LGBTQ+ bullying firsthand, compared to 27% in supportive states.

And for the first time, the survey found that educators themselves are experiencing anti-LGBTQ+ harassment — not from students, but as part of the climate these laws create.

"Every statistic in this report represents a student who deserves to feel safe and respected at school, and an educator working to make that possible," HRC Vice President of School and Youth Programming Cheryl Greene said in the release. The findings, she said, show the cost of policies that create barriers to inclusion, particularly for trans students — affecting not just classroom time but young people's sense of belonging, mental health and ability to thrive.

In supportive states, 75% of educators reported no restrictions on LGBTQ+-supportive displays. In restrictive states, teachers also reported significant harassment of students based on appearance (57%), race or ethnicity (43%), sexual orientation (42%) and gender identity or expression (39%).

Not inevitable

HRC President Kelley Robinson was blunt: "Every young person deserves to feel safe and supported at school, but this report makes clear that far too many LGBTQ+ students, especially transgender youth, are being failed by policies designed to exclude them."

She added that the differences between supportive and restrictive states show these outcomes are not inevitable — they are the result of policy choices. "As we move toward the midterm elections," Robinson said, "it's clear that the leaders we elect, from state officials to local school board members, will help determine whether LGBTQ+ students feel welcomed and educators feel supported, or whether harmful policies continue to tell them they don't belong."

The survey comes as a growing number of US states have passed laws targeting LGBTQ+ students and the educators who support them — restricting anti-bullying programmes, limiting classroom discussions about LGBTQ+ people and issues, and banning trans students from participating fully in school life.

So here is what 59% restricted looks like on a Tuesday morning: a fourteen-year-old walks into homeroom, and the teacher who knows his name is no longer allowed to use it. The book that helped him last year is gone from the shelf. The poster that said you belong here has been taken down. And the adult in the room who wants to help him has been told, by law, that helping is now harm.

That is what policy does to a person.