Improving Data Inclusion for LGBTQI+ Youth

Collecting data on LGBTQ+ issues and the experiences of LGBTQ+ young people is essential both for enforcing civil rights protections and advancing racial, gender, and disability justice outcomes in K-12 education systems across the country. The absence of this data:

• Is a barrier to full implementation of nondiscrimination protections;
• Obscures disparities impacting LGBTQ+ young people in K-12 schools; Prevents educators from accessing the information they need to develop and evaluate the impact of programming on LGBTQ+ students and their non-LGBTQ+ peers; and
• Limits the ability to assess the impact of laws, policies, and initiatives on the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ young people and young people with an LGBTQ+ parent, guardian, or family member.

Leading scientists, researchers, and educators agree on the need for LGBTQ+ data inclusion. In 2022, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) published a consensus study with guiding principles for the collection of LGBTQ+ demographic data and recommended measures for collecting such data, primarily with adults.

LGBTQ+ data inclusion is necessary to ensure all students have access to safe and inclusive schools and details policy recommendations for LGBTQ+ data inclusion in different contexts, such as:

• School climate surveys administered by schools or local education agencies, including as part of statewide accountability system;
• Surveys of teachers, administrators, and other staff;
• Surveys of parents and families;
• Federal surveys of young people in K-12 schools, including the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the High School and Beyond longitudinal study;
• Administrative data collection, including the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection.