Many LGBTQ students feel unsafe in Illinois schools, report says

Most LGBTQ students in Illinois have said they heard homophobic comments and experienced harassment, according to a report released Wednesday.

GLSEN, a national nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ students, released the report which found that 80 percent of LGBTQ students in middle and high school reported regularly hearing homophobic remarks in school, and 67 percent reported regularly hearing negative remarks about transgender people.

Some students also regularly heard school staff make homophobic remarks (16 percent) and many regularly heard school staff make negative remarks about someone's gender expression (36 percent).

In addition, many LGBTQ students in Illinois did not have access to important school resources, such as an LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, and were not protected by supportive and inclusive school policies, the organization said.

Click here to read the full report for Illinois and other states.

"This research makes clear that many LGBTQ students in Illinois are facing hostile environments that lack many of the resources that make their schools safe spaces for them to attend," said Eliza Byard, Executive Director of GLSEN.