; Whereas transgender students were more likely than all other students to report feeling unsafe at school due to bullying, harassment, and discrimination; Whereas according to the 2015 National Transgender Discrimination Survey, those who identified as transgender or gender nonconforming while in grades K through 12 reported alarming rates of harassment, physical assault, and sexual violence so severe that 17 percent of those surveyed had to leave school; Whereas student academic performance is affected such that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students who experienced high levels of verbal harassment because of their sexual orientation or gender expression report a grade point average nearly a half grade lower than those of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students who experienced low levels of such harassment; Whereas the presence of supportive staff contributed to a range of positive indicators including fewer reports of missing school, fewer reports of feeling unsafe, greater academic achievement, higher educational aspirations, and a greater sense of school belonging; Whereas a growing number of States, cities, and local education authorities are adopting laws and policies to prohibit name-calling, bullying, harassment, and discrimination against students on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity or expression; and Whereas every child should be guaranteed an education free from name-calling, bullying, harassment, and discrimination regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity or expression: Now, therefore, be it