GLAAD has documented Vice President Kamala Harris’ LGBTQ record on education issues, including her record on intellectual freedom in classrooms and libraries, transgender health care, and the right to learn accurate American history. Harris’ LGBTQ record is available on GLAAD’s Kamala Harris Accountability Tracker, as well as the Biden-Harris Administration’s Accountability Tracker. Bullying and anti-LGBTQ policies in education are among the top motivators for LGBTQ voters.
Harris’ education record includes:
- Choosing a former high school teacher and coach, Gov. Tim Walz, as her running mate. In their first public appearance together, Harris highlighted Walz’s decision to be the high school’s first faculty advisor for the new Gay Straight Alliance in 1999: “At a time when acceptance was difficult to find for LGBTQ students, Tim knew the signal that it would send to have a football coach get involved… So he signed up to be the group’s faculty advisor,” Harris said. “And as students said, he made the school a safe place for everybody.”
- Speaking out against book bans in schools and libraries. Delivering remarks at the American Federation of Teachers’ 2024 national convention, Harris called out groups including Moms for Liberty who threaten the right to read freely. “And while you teach students about our nation’s past, these extremists attack the freedom to learn and acknowledge our nation’s true and full history … including book bans.” Stopping by Northern Arizona during her 2023 “Fight for Our Freedoms” college tour, Harris said: “Check out the book bans and—and how many of them are against either an LGBTQ+ author or have subject matter that is about LGBTQ+ subjects and people.… It is incumbent on us who believe in the strength of diversity and the importance of unity to build coalition… including on the issue of what is happening in terms of attacks against trans folks, attacks against the LGBTQ community as a whole.”
- Casting a spotlight on anti-LGBTQ bullying. Following the death of nonbinary student Nex Benedict in early 2024, Harris expressed her sympathy and support to the LGBTQ community: “To the LGBTQI+ youth who are hurting and are afraid right now: President Joe Biden and I see you, we stand with you, and you are not alone.”
- Promoting accurate accounts of United States history, including LGBTQ topics, as well as race and racism. Visiting Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia on her “Fight for Our Freedoms” college tour, Harris said: “we really are in a fight, including the fight for the freedom to be taught America’s full history. … Where there are people who walk around with their fancy flag pins and they want to be leaders of our country and the world, and they dare to tell us that enslaved people benefited from slavery. They gaslight us as they try to insult us.”
- Supporting teachers’ rights: “I can’t stand it when so-called powerful people intentionally try to strike fear in innocent people,” said Harris. Holding a moderated conversation at The College of Charleston on her “Fight for Our Freedoms” college tour, Harris discussed the ramifications of Florida’s “Don’t Say LGBTQ” bill: “‘How will this affect a real person?’ So, here’s how I think about this issue. The young teachers in Florida are in their 20s. And if they are in a same-sex relationship, they are literally afraid to put a photograph of themselves and their partner up for fear they may lose their job, because they decided to take on one of the most noble professions anyone could engage in, which is to teach other people’s children.”
- Embarking on a month-long multi-state “Fight for Our Freedoms” college tour to encourage students to fight for their rights, including LGBTQ equality and the right to read freely. Speaking at The College of Southern Nevada, Harris said: “So, I asked my team, ‘Let’s do a Venn diagram. From which states are we seeing attacks on LGBTQ rights, attacks on voting rights, and attacks on reproductive freedom?’ And you would not be shocked to know there was a significant overlap. What that also presents is… this opportunity to think about strengthening the coalition, bringing folks together who have been fighting for voting rights, bringing together folks who have been fighting for reproductive health rights, bringing together folks… who are fighting for LGBTQ+ rights.”
- Backing Title I and Head Start funding increases, both of which support students in low-income families. On several occasions, President Biden called for increased Title I funding, but his proposals have been subject to scrutiny by Congressional Republicans, who called for dramatic cutbacks, and blocked President Biden’s proposals.
- Highlighting the scourge of gun violence in schools. At her first rally in July, Harris expressed the need for gun reform: “We, who believe that every person should have the freedom to live safe from the terror of gun violence, will finally pass red flag laws, universal background checks, and an assault weapons ban.” At a campaign reception in 2023, Harris called out legislators who champion book bans while disregarding violence in American schools: “Did you see recently, they’re also going to – they’re proposing banning some Shakespeare? Talk about much ado about nothing. But it’s—again, it’s kind of—you know, what could otherwise be a comedy is a tragedy, right? This is what’s happening in our country, and we have to be clear-eyed about it. And we have to understand this is a very critical moment. They’re banning books. All the while, they refuse to pass reasonable gun safety laws.”
- Establishing a hate crimes unit during her time as San Francisco district attorney to examine crimes targeting LGBTQ youth. Harris paved the way for California to become the first state to outlaw LGBTQ panic defense. Previously, defendants charged with violent crimes could blame their victims based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Biden-Harris administration has been committed to protecting and expanding the rights of all students:
- Introducing Title IX updates, which include the right to use bathrooms that align with students’ gender identities. In light of Conservative efforts to postpone enforcement, including temporary injunctions in more than 20 states, the Biden-Harris administration “has asked the Supreme Court to let the Education Department enforce it without provisions that safeguard protections for gender identity, since that’s the primary focus of the legal fights.”
- Acknowledging transgender people as “part of the fabric of our Nation” and highlighting the need for increased mental health support. In the White House’s proclamation on the 2024 Transgender Day of Visibility, President Biden said: “Extremists are proposing hundreds of hateful laws that target and terrify transgender kids and their families—silencing teachers; banning books; and even threatening parents. … It is no surprise that the bullying and discrimination that transgender Americans face is worsening our Nation’s mental health crisis, leading half of transgender youth to consider suicide in the past year. At the same time, an epidemic of violence against transgender women and girls, especially women and girls of color, continues to take too many lives. Let me be clear: All of these attacks are un-American and must end. No one should have to be brave just to be themselves.” Ending the proclamation, Biden said: “Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans: You are loved. You are heard. You are understood. You belong. You are America, and my entire Administration and I have your back.”
- Hiring a book ban czar, Matt Nosanchuk, to monitor book suppression efforts nationwide and respond as necessary.
- Establishing the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, overseen by Vice President Harris. Goals include: enhancing the background check process; securing federal support for programs that support victims of gun violence; developing new policies to address gun violence; and coordinate with cities and states to better address gun violence.
- Enacting the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), “the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years.” BSCA goals include: “identifying new executive actions, partnering with state and local officials, and coordinating the first ever federal interagency response to mass shootings and concentrations of community violence.”
- Strengthening the Violence Against Women Act, which provides support and resources for domestic assault survivors, “including those from underserved and marginalized communities, LGBTQI+ people, and people living on college campuses.”
- Clarifying how higher education institutions can support DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) efforts after the Supreme Court effectively banned affirmative action.
- Hosting a Department of Education-sponsored Pride event. Said Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, “we stand with LGBTQ+ students and teachers. Everyone should have the freedom to be themselves.”
- Providing funds to hire an additional 14,000 mental health professionals to America’s schools.
- Announcing protections for LGBTQ kids and communities “by strengthening mental health resources for LGBTQI+ youth, launching a new federal initiative to address LGBTQI+ youth homelessness, releasing federal funding to support programs that help parents affirm their LGBTQI+ kids, and advancing new regulations to protect LGBTQI+ youth in foster care.”
- Launching the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to provide confidential mental health support to all Americans.
Harris’ statements on the teaching profession:
“Our teachers … are visionaries. You are focused on the future. The work you do is about a focus on the future. You see the potential in every child. You foster it. You encourage it. And in so doing, you shape the future of our nation, which is why I say: We need you so desperately right now.”
Harris’ rejection of “Don’t Say LGBTQ” laws:
“And while you… teach students about our nation’s past, these extremists attack the freedom to learn and acknowledge our nation’s true and full history, including book bans,” said Harris. “So, we want to ban assault weapons, and they want to ban books.… Can you imagine? All the while, these extremists also attack the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride. They pass so-called “Don’t Say Gay” laws.… Now, I have to tell you, so many of you may know, in 2004, on Valentine’s Day weekend, I was one of the first elected officials in the country to perform same-sex marriages … So, here’s the thing: It pains me so to think 20 years later that there are some young teachers in their 20s who are afraid to put up a photograph of themselves and their partner for fear they could lose their job. And what is their job? The most noble of work, teaching other people’s children. And God knows we don’t pay you enough as it is. In this moment, we are in a fight for our most fundamental freedoms. And to this room of leaders, I say: Bring it on.”
Harris’ campaign has been endorsed by pro-LGBTQ educational organizations, including the National Education Association (NEA), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which support educators (NEA/AFT), as well as retired educators, and support staff at colleges and universities (NEA).
GLAAD’s Voter Poll shows:
- 53% of both registered and likely 2024 voters say they would oppose “a political candidate [who] speaks frequently about restricting access to health care and participation in sports for transgender youth.”
- Voters overwhelmingly believe that decisions about health care and mental health services for transgender youth should be made by parents: 81% of likely 2024 voters, 83% of swing voters, and 73% of Trump voters agree.
- All categories overwhelmingly agree that “Republicans should stop focusing on restricting women’s rights and banning medical care for transgender youth and instead focus on addressing inflation, job creation, and healthcare costs.” 94% of LGBTQ voters, 76% of registered voters, 76% of likely 2024 voters, and 82% of swing voters agree.