Anti-LGBTQ plus sex education laws: The effects on students and implications for schools and school practitioners

Anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and/or Queer (LGBTQ+) education laws are defined as laws that prohibit or limit schools from discussing same-sex relationships, broader sexuality, and gender issues in their sexual education curriculum. This study presents a historical context of anti-LGBTQ+ sex education laws, examines the extant literature on the possible impact of these laws, and suggests recommendations for schools and school practitioners. Anti-LGBTQ+ sex education laws may impact school climate and have been associated with poorer well-being for LGBTQ+ students and cisgender heterosexual allies that encompass a range of sexual orientations and gender identities. With an Executive Order from the US president outlining the need to support LGBTQ+ youth in schools and the US Surgeon General's Advisory to highlight the urgent need to address the nation's youths' mental health, it is imperative to support LGBTQ+ students. We offer strategies that may be used to address anti-LGBTQ+ sex education laws by school administrators and practitioners in a call for advocacy to make changes in sex education policy to improve the well-being of students, particularly LGBTQ+ youth.