The State Equality Index (SEI) is a comprehensive state-by-state report that provides a review of statewide laws and policies that affect LGBTQ people and their families.
The SEI rates all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. in six areas of law and assigns the states to one of four distinct categories.
Check your state's scorecard by texting SEI to 472472 from your mobile phone. (msg & data rates may apply. Text STOP to quit, HELP for info.)
State Equality Index 2020
The 2020 legislative session was one of the most unusual in recent memory, given the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite the shortened sessions in many states, we saw multiple states pass pro-equality laws to protect the LGBTQ community.
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Bans insurance exclusions for transgender health care
4 States
Protects transgender healthcare in state Medicaid
Bans insurance exclusions for transgender health care and has protections for transgender healthcare in state Medicaid
20 States & DC
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<iframe src="https://www.hrc.org/resources/state-maps/transgender-healthcare?embed=1" width="760" height="700" frameBorder="0" seamless="seamless" scrolling="auto"></iframe>
Updated January 21, 2021
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State Protects Youth From So-Called "Conversion Therapy"
20 States & DC
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<iframe src="https://www.hrc.org/resources/state-maps/anti-conversion-therapy?embed=1" width="760" height="700" frameBorder="0" seamless="seamless" scrolling="auto"></iframe>
This map indicates states that protect LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy through licensing restrictions which prevent licensed mental health service professionals from conducting conversion therapy on youth under age 18.
*New York also protects youth from conversion therapy by the following regulatory action implemented on February 6, 2016:
NY State Department of Financial Services - regulations prohibiting insurance providers from covering conversion therapy on patients under the age of 18;
NY State Office of Mental Health - regulations prohibiting mental health providers licensed by this department from using conversion therapy on youth under the age of 18; and
NY State Department of Health - regulations declaring that conversion therapy is not covered by the New York State Medicaid plan since it is never medically necessary care.
Updated January 21, 2021
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Allows agencies to discriminate against potential parents
5 States
Allows agencies to refuse to work with potential parents and children
1 State
Allows agencies to refuse to work with potential parents and children and allows agencies to deny children services to which the agency objects
Allows sweeping anti-LGBTQ discrimination that includes allowing agencies to refuse to work with potential parents and children and agencies can deny children services to which the agency objects, including refusing to allow transgender people access
3 States
Discrimination is allowed by private agencies which do not receive taxpayer funds
1 State
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<iframe src="https://www.hrc.org/resources/state-maps/discrimination-in-child-welfare-services?embed=1" width="760" height="700" frameBorder="0" seamless="seamless" scrolling="auto"></iframe>
*Michigan was subject to a lawsuit that settled the law, and Michigan is no longer able to enforce these restrictions.
Updated January 21, 2021
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Address discrimination against students based on sexual orientation and gender identity
17 States & DC
Address discrimination against students based on sexual orientation only
2 States
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<iframe src="https://www.hrc.org/resources/state-maps/education?embed=1" width="760" height="700" frameBorder="0" seamless="seamless" scrolling="auto"></iframe>
Increasingly, states are explicitly addressing discrimination against LGBTQ elementary and high school students. This map indicates state laws that prohibit discrimination against students in public education on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The states that explicitly address discrimination against LGBTQ students are shown.
Updated January 21, 2021
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Prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
22 States & DC
Prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation only
1 State
Prohibit discrimination against public employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity
8 States
Prohibit discrimination against public employees based on sexual orientation only
2 States
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<iframe src="https://www.hrc.org/resources/state-maps/employment?embed=1" width="760" height="700" frameBorder="0" seamless="seamless" scrolling="auto"></iframe>
The Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is currently accepting complaints of sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in employment based on Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination.
*State courts, commissions, agencies, or attorney general have interpreted the existing law to include some protection against discrimination against transgender individuals in Florida.
*North Carolina's executive order enumerates sexual orientation and gender identity. However, this order has a bathroom carve out for transgender employees making the executive order not fully-inclusive.
*On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia that sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination are prohibited under federal sex-based employment protections. Nevertheless, it is imperative that states continue enacting explicitly LGBTQ-inclusive
comprehensive non-discrimination laws since it will likely take additional litigation for Bostock to be fully applied to all sex-based protections under existing federal civil rights law. Moreover, federal law currently lacks sex-based protections in numerous key areas of life, including public spaces and services. Lastly, there are many invaluable benefits to states enacting inclusive protections even when they exist on higher levels of government.
For more information on the Supreme Court of the United States' decision in the Bostock vs. Clayton County case, see What the Supreme Court Ruling in Bostock Means For State Legislative Efforts.
Updated January 21, 2021
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Facilitate gender marker update on driver's licenses only
12 States
Facilitate gender marker update on birth certificates only
Facilitate gender marker update on both birth certificates and driver's licenses
23 States & DC
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<iframe src="https://www.hrc.org/resources/state-maps/gender-marker-updates-on-identification-documents?embed=1" width="760" height="700" frameBorder="0" seamless="seamless" scrolling="auto"></iframe>
Updated January 21, 2021
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Address hate or bias crimes based on sexual orientation only
12 States & DC
Address hate or bias crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity
20 States