Anti-Bullying
Anti-bullying laws protect LGBTQ students from bullying by other students, teachers, and school staff on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. This map shows state anti-bullying laws that explicitly enumerate sexual orientation and/or gender identity as protected characteristics, as well as states that explicitly ban schools from adding LGBTQ protections to their anti-bullying policies. In some states, school regulation or the statewide teacher code of conduct prohibits bullying on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity; these states are only reflected on this map if these are the only available protections in the state.
Please note, other rights may exist or be recognized where you live; this map is not intended as legal advice or an indication of your rights.
“Association with someone with a listed characteristic” means the law prohibits bullying a student based on their relationship to someone else with a listed characteristic. These laws are meant to protect, for example, students with LGBTQ friends or family members.
While some states, districts, and schools have non-enumerated anti-bullying laws or policies (policies which generally prohibit bullying, but do not list specific characteristics like race or sexual orientation about which a student might be bullied), research by Glisten (formerly GLSEN) finds that such laws are ineffective and have no impact on rates of anti-LGBTQ bullying. Therefore, these laws are not included on this map.Â
For additional information about anti-bullying laws more generally, visit StopBullying.gov.
Recommended citation:
Movement Advancement Project. “Equality Maps: Safe Schools Laws.” https://mapresearch.org/equality-map/safe-school-laws. Data as of June 12, 2026.
Trevor Lifeline – (866-488-7386) – You can call the Trevor Lifeline to connect with a trained volunteer counselor who is ready to listen. It’s free and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Percent of LGBTQ Population Covered by Laws
*Note: These percentages reflect estimates of the LGBTQ population (ages 13+) living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Estimates of the LGBTQ population in the five inhabited U.S. territories are not available, and so cannot be reflected here. Population data are from UCLA’s The Williams Institute.
