As we reflect on International Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31st, we honor the love and joy that so many Oregon education leaders and learners are showing our transgender and gender expansive youth, educators, parents, and neighbors every day. When hostility is increased, visibility for transgender community members becomes less safe and more tenuous, a feeling many of our communities are all too aware of right now. 

The 2026 Legislative Report outlines how the LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Grantees continue to bring the ideas of the LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Plan to life. A new section of this report highlights four possibility models–suicide prevention and mental health, better together regional ESD model, culturally sustaining programming, and rural visibility and support–which are composites of multiple grantees work across rural and urban regions of the state, laying a roadmap for community partners to replicate and adapt to fit their community needs. This report reminds each of us that while this work can be hard, implementing queer- and gender-affirming strategies is possible and it is life-saving – we must move through uncertainty to make safe learning spaces a reality for every learner. You are not alone. 

Please reach out to LGBTQ2SIA.success@ode.oregon.gov with any questions or support needs. 

Image: LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Advisory Group members hold the trans, progress, and asexual pride flags behind themselves, as they face toward the Oregon capitol building

“I am transgender, queer, and neurodivergent. People, especially my peers, treat me differently or weirdly because of it. I can't join sports because I am transgender, and the activities I can do that shouldn't be affected by my identity or brain stuff ARE affected either way because the staff who run those activities dislike me or treat me differently.” 

“I would hire more teachers who don't hate LGBTQ+ students and students with learning disabilities. This would impact students' mental health positively because the people who are teaching them don't have a grudge against them.” 

-Student quotes from 2024-25 SEED Survey 

The sentiments shared by youth here shine a light on the important intersections for many of our neuroqueer youth and community members, something we are working to better represent in the next iteration of the LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Plan (SSP). For Disability Awareness Month this March and Autism Acceptance Month in April, we honor the 68% of 8th and 11th grade LGBTQ2SIA+ students with disabilities in Oregon, which is almost 2 times as many as the 37% of 8th and 11th grade students with disabilities statewide. Learn more about intersectional disability justice from one of our LGBTQ2SIA+ SSP Grantee partner organizations Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN) through their free library of recorded webinars. 

Image created via Canva and rooted in disability justice and youth voice feedback.

The Celebrate LGBTQ Women’s History blog post from The Center summed up clearly why the contributions of LGBTQ2SIA+ women are essential to include and celebrate this month and all year round in Oregon classrooms. We uplift their words for education leaders as they work diligently to offer culturally responsive and representative histories, lessons, and materials that resonate with Oregon youth: 

“During Women’s History Month, we take pride in highlighting the groundbreaking women in our community who have shaped history. We celebrate and give thanks for the transgender women who sparked movements. We uplift the women business leaders who shatter ceilings. We recognize the women athletes, cis and trans, who break records and defy expectations. We honor the artists and storytellers who turn collective and personal experiences into art. We celebrate the innovators who are changing the world despite systems of oppression.” 

Image: A grid of 45 portraits of LGBTQ+ women, shared by The Center

Camp Starlight is Oregon’s only free, week‑long overnight camp specifically for LGBTQIA+ youth and youth whose lives have been impacted by HIV/AIDS. For more than 25 years, Camp Starlight has created a space where young people can experience joy, belonging, and community in an environment designed with their identities and safety at the center. Camp Starlight’s mission is to provide a deeply affirming, trauma‑informed, gender‑liberated camp experience where every young person is celebrated for exactly who they are. Camp Starlight will be held July 26-31, 2026. 

Questions? Camp Director Randy Bodkin is available and happy to talk with educators, counselors, GSA advisors, or families about the camp experience, application process, or partnership opportunities. Learn more or apply: www.camp-starlight.org or reach out to info@camp-starlight.org.

LGBTQ2SIA+ School Staff Voice: EVE Workforce Survey Open thru March 31

Oregon’s 2026 Elevating Voices in Education (EVE) Workforce Survey opened on Monday, February 2 and will close on Tuesday, March 31. The EVE Workforce Survey is a free, anonymous and confidential survey designed to gather insights from the public education workforce about their workplace experiences in order to provide actionable information to the state and districts. With the optional sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) demographic questions, the EVE Workforce Survey is one of the only Oregon sources of LGBTQ2SIA+ school staff experience data. Of the nearly 14,000 responses, approximately 10,000 respondents answered the SOGI questions: 159 reported gender expansive identities and 946 reported queer orientations. The more LGBTQ2SIA+ staff take the survey, the better the data we can glean from their experiences in the education workforce.

How to share? We recommend sharing the QR Code Survey Flyer in person (e.g., at a staff meeting or LGBTQ2SIA+ affinity space if possible). If you have any questions about accessing or instructions to take the EVE Workforce Survey please visit the EVE Workforce Survey website or contact ODE.edstaffsurvey@ode.oregon.gov. 

When LGBTQ+ youth are given access to resources and support, they don’t just imagine a better world; they build it. The Changemakers grants ($5,000 or $10,000) will be awarded to exceptional projects led by LGBTQ+ youth (13-18) in collaboration with a partner organization aiming to make their communities a bolder, safer, and prouder place for all. These grants are ONLY for LGBTQ+ youth partnering with registered nonprofits OR public and charter schools within the United States, Washington D.C., and its territories. 

Do you want to publish a zine filled with local LGBTQ+ youth resources and art? What about a service project empowering youth to directly benefit their community? Maybe there’s even a queer homecoming or celebration in your future? Applications open through May 3rd, 2026.

Pride in Numbers is the largest-yet research project by and for Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ people across the state of Oregon. Centering BIPOC, trans, rural, and Indigenous leaders and experiences, we are working with individuals and communities to gather stories and experiences in ways that honor and support Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ people. The information and stories gathered will be given back to the community so our statewide advocates, community organizations, and activists—each of us—can build the programs, services, mutual aid networks, and policies we deserve and dream of.

The research was extended until May 31st, and includes an online survey, a community art project, virtual and in-person storytelling sessions, and 1:1 interviews. The research will cover a wide spread of topics, from health care, housing, safety, education, and economic well-being, to family, identity, and contributions Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ people make to our communities. For legal and logistical reasons, all parts of the research project except for the community art project are for ages 18+. PiN is especially encouraging Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ youth across Oregon to participate via the community art project, including options for confidentiality. PiN is especially encouraging Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ adults (ages 18+) across Oregon to take the online survey. 

Youth-facing flyers about the art project are available in English and Spanish. All materials can be shared widely. 

Listserv Submission Process 

We welcome your submissions to ODE's LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success ListServ! If you have announcements, job postings, or general questions for your colleagues, you can submit them here. We will consider all submissions on a rolling basis, based on newsletter frequency and alignment with the LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Plan.