Whose Rights?: A case study of one district’s organizational response to an unsuccessful parents’ rights legal challenge and the impact of students’ access to gender-affirming supports on climate, health, and academics

This research project received funding through the 2024-2025 Institute for Diversity Science Seed Grant Program

Principal Investigator: Mollie McQuillan, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Co-Investigators: Erin Gill, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis; Ben Lebovitz, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis 

Mollie McQuillan
Erin Gill
Ben Lebovitz

Abstract:

State legislatures have increased the number of proposed anti-LGBTQ+ educational bills by 2000% since 2019. This increasingly antagonistic political environment can influence educators behaviors and students’ health, academics, and school belonging. The proposed study has three overarching goals, to: 1) describe how many students attending on large, urban, Midwestern school district identify with LGBTQ+ identities and have formally requested name, gender, or pronoun changes through either a formal request to the district or change in the student information system? 2) assess whether school and district-level supports for LGBTQ+ youth, such as name and gender marker requests or professional development training, have changed over time (2015-2024), and 3) examine whether school- and district-level supports for LGBTQ+  students contribute to changes in school climate, attendance, academic success, and behavioral reports?

 This longitudinal study uses several secondary data sources — the Dane County Youth Assessment, the district high school climate survey, the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data (CCD), Wisconsin District/School Report Cards, and district administrative records that include student grades, attendance, testing scores, and disciplinary actions. Using time trends, we will explore changes in LGBTQ+ district leadership, access to educator resources (e.g., inclusivity professional development and administrative guidance concerning transgender students), name change requests, and student reports. We will also use multilevel regression analysis to assess relationships between school supports, new school climate survey data, and linked student administrative data on academics, attendance, and disciplinary actions to assess differences between LGBTQ+ youth and their straight, cisgender peers.