71. Strengthen support programs and initiatives serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) students.

Campus Support Programs 09.6.24

Here’s what the federal government can do:

  • The U.S. Department of Education should collect, conduct, and disseminate research on the access and impact that campus support services have on the academic outcomes of LGBTQIA+ students, disaggregated by race and ethnicity.
  • The U.S. Department of Education should ensure that higher education institutions have access to and an understanding of guidance to support LGBTQIA+ students.

Here’s what state government can do:

  • State legislatures should require higher education institutions to provide campus support services designed to serve queer, transgender, and intersex students. State legislatures should provide permanent and substantial funding for this purpose.

Here’s what institutional leaders can do:

  • Higher education institutions should award financial aid and scholarships without consideration of a student’s legacy status.
  • Higher education institutions should establish measures and structures of support for the health, social, and financial well-being of LGBTQIA+ students of color who may face increased marginalization, including:
    • Access to safe and supportive campus spaces
    • Equal access to sex-separated programs and facilities, including dorms, restrooms, locker rooms, and student activities (including sports)
    • Access to single-user restrooms (but no student should be forced to use these in place of sex-separated restrooms or locker rooms)
    • Respect for correct names and pronouns
    • Affirming health care, including culturally competent mental health care
    • Housing and food security
    • Reliable and safe transportation
  • Higher education institutions should strengthen their support programs and practices by gathering the input of LGBTQIA+ students of color. Higher education institutions should appropriately compensate students who provide input.

Colleges and universities should offer greater access to life-saving and supportive services for queer, trans, and intersex students.

For many LGBTQIA+ students, attending college is an opportunity to be in community with other queer students. However, if colleges and universities are not responsive to the needs of LGBTQIA+ students — such as housing, food security, and affirming mental health care — navigating the higher education system may present significant barriers to achieving their dreams. One in three LGBTQIA+ college students have seriously considered suicide, and rates are higher for LGBTQIA+ students of color.[i] LGBTQIA+ college students with access to student services designed to serve queer students are 44 percent less likely to attempt suicide[ii] compared to queer students without access. [iii]

[i]“Research Brief: Suicide Risk and Access to Care Among LGBTQ College Students,” The Trevor Project, September 2022. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/September-Research-Brief-September-Research-Brief.pdf.

[ii]Ibid.

[iii]“Resources for LGBTQI+ Students,” U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, April 30, 2024. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/lgbt.html.