Arlington Advocacy Groups Urge School Board To Address LGBTQ+ Student Mental Health Crisis

ARLINGTON, VA — Two local advocacy groups sent a joint letter Monday to the Arlington School Board and Superintendent Francisco Durán, calling for immediate action to address high rates of mental health struggles, violence, and bullying reported by LGBTQ+ students.

Equality Arlington and the Arlington Gender Identity Alliance (AGIA) cited data from the 2024 Arlington Youth Survey, released in late 2025, which indicates that LGBTQ+ students experience significantly worse outcomes than their straight and cisgender peers.

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“APS has a duty to respond to the crisis of mental health, violence, and bullying facing LGBTQ+ students made apparent in its own survey results,” the groups stated in the letter.

Patch reached out to Arlington Public Schools on Tuesday morning, requested acomment from Durán about the letter. This story will be updated once a response has been received.

The survey, which polled students in 10th and 12th grades, revealed several findings regarding the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth in the district:

• 46.3 percent of transgender students reported experiencing poor mental health, including stress, anxiety, or depression, most of the time or always during the 30 days prior to the survey.
• 30.6 percent of nonbinary students seriously considered attempting suicide during the 12 months before the survey.
• 19.4 percent of nonbinary students made a plan for attempting suicide during the 12 months before the survey.
• 18.5 percent of transgender students reported actually attempting suicide at least once during the 12 months before the survey.
• 5.5 percent of LGBQ students reported they had been physically forced to have sexual intercourse.
• 9.7 percent of LGBQ students experienced sexual violence by someone at least once during the 12 months before the survey.
• 5.5 percent of LGBQ students experienced sexual dating violence at least once during the 12 months before the survey.
• 19.4 percent of nonbinary students did not go to school because they felt unsafe at school or on their way to or from school at least one day during the 30 days before the survey.
• 20.4 percent of transgender students reported being bullied on school property during the 12 months before the survey.
• 16.7 percent of nonbinary students were electronically bullied through social media or texting in the 12 months before the survey.

The groups noted that these results are similar to data released in 2019, suggesting that "little has changed for LGBTQ+ students" despite shifts in the general student population.

The letter outlines four specific recommendations for the district: consistent enforcement of non-discrimination policies, the inclusion of LGBTQ-affirmative books and lessons in instruction, active support for Gender & Sexuality Alliances (GSA) through the district's DEI office, and professional development training via the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s "Welcoming Schools" program.

Equality Arlington and AGIA also urged Arlington Public Schools to resist state and federal policies that they argue "strip students of their rights," specifically mentioning Virginia High School League policies regarding transgender athletes.

The 2024-30 Strategic Plan for APS includes a performance objective to increase the sense of belonging among LGBTQ+ students. However, the advocacy groups argue that a "tailored approach" is necessary to reverse the disproportionate burden of mental health challenges.

"APS needs to do more to ensure that LGBTQ+ students have the support needed to address significant risks in mental health, violence, and bullying," the groups wrote.

Read the full text of the letter Equality Arlington and the Arlington Gender Identity Alliance sent to Superintendent Francisco Durán and School Board Chair Bethany Zecher Sutton.