School Anti-Bullying

Map Key

Address harassment and/or bullying of students based on sexual orientation and gender identity

22 States & DC

States without Protections

26 States

Prevents school districts from specifically protecting LGBTQ students

2 States

Many states explicitly address harassment and/or bullying of elementary and high school students, though not all are LGBTQ+ inclusive. These protections can be in the form of statutory law, regulation or ethical codes of conduct for teachers. The states that explicitly address these issues for LGBTQ+ students are as follows.

* Regulations and Ethical Codes of Conduct: States with school regulation or ethical code for teachers that addresses harassment and/or bullying of students based on sexual orientation (3 states): New Mexico (regulation), Pennsylvania (regulation) and Utah (code of ethics). States with school regulation or ethical code for teachers that addresses discrimination, harassment and/or bullying of students based on both sexual
orientation and gender identity (2 states): Hawaii (regulation) and West Virginia (regulation).

** Policies/No Categories: States that prohibit bullying in schools but list no categories of protection (25 states): Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Please note that the quality of anti-bullying laws varies drastically from state to state. This map is only a reflection of the existence of such laws and policies.

Updated June 5, 2023