; Whereas transgender students were more likely than all other students to report feeling unsafe at school because of their gender expression; Whereas according to the 2015 National Transgender Discrimination Survey, those who expressed a transgender identity or gender nonconformity 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 according to the 2017 National School Climate Survey, student academic performance is affected such that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students who experienced high levels of harassment and assault because of their sexual orientation or gender expression report a grade point average nearly a half grade lower than those of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students who experienced low levels of such harassment and assault; 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 his or her sexual orientation and gender identity or expression: Now, therefore, be it