State Legislation’s Impact on LGBTQ+ Student Wellbeing in U.S. Schools
Sam Markley
University of South Dakota
Keywords: Political Science, Gender Studies
Abstract
This paper analyzes proposed bills from the 2023 legislative session. It focused on bills affecting LGBTQ+ youth in the school setting and identifies 46 bills relevant to this policy area. The paper categorizes these bills based on their relation to harming protective factors in schools that may aid LGBTQ+ students. Finally, this paper ends by relating these bills to the state of LGBTQ+ youth mental health and argues that a correlation is seen between the introduction of these bills and increased rates of depression and suicidality.
