Executive Summary
Many states have enacted laws or have legislation pending that would restrict the rights of transgender youth. In 2023, over 500 pieces of legislation restricting the rights of LGBTQ people were introduced in state legislatures. Nearly as many bills have been introduced or remain under consideration thus far in 2024. A substantial percentage of these bills specifically target transgender youth, such as by limiting access to gender-affirming care, participation in sports and school programs, access to bathrooms and other facilities, or by discouraging the use of gender-affirming pronouns for transgender youth.
At the same time, many states have banned practices intended to change a young person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, known as conversion therapy, or have laws pending to do so. Several states have also enacted or introduced “shield’ laws to protect families and health practitioners who facilitate access to gender-affirming care from prosecution beyond state borders where such care has been restricted.
This report estimates the number of transgender youth ages 13-17 who are impacted by six types of laws and policies that have gained traction in the 2023-2024 legislative sessions. For this report, we focus on laws that have been enacted or new legislation that was either introduced in 2024 or “carried over” from 2023. These laws and policies include four common types of legislation that restrict the rights of transgender youth—gender-affirming care bans, bans on sports participation, bathroom and other facilities bans, and restrictions on the use of gender-affirming pronouns—and two that confer protections via gender-affirming care “shield” laws and conversion therapy bans.
Key Findings
Ninety-three percent of transgender youth ages 13-17 in the U.S., an estimated 280,300 transgender youth, live in states that have passed or proposed one or more laws banning access to gender-affirming care, participation in sports, use of bathrooms and other sex-separated facilities, or affirmation of gender through pronoun use.
- 120,200 transgender youth live in states where one or more of these types of laws have been enacted.
- 160,100 transgender youth live in states where one or more of these laws was pending in the 2024 legislative session but has not yet been enacted.
- Only 19,500 transgender youth live in states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) where none of these types of laws have been enacted or where none of these laws were introduced or pending in the 2024 legislative session.
- Transgender youth in specific regions of the country are more likely to live in a state with at least one of the four types of anti-transgender law.
- Approximately 85% of transgender youth ages 13-17 in the South and 40% of transgender youth ages 13-17 in the Midwest live in states with at least one anti-transgender law.
- Transgender youth in the Northeast are least likely to live in a state where an anti-transgender law has been enacted.
Bans on Gender-Affirming Care
- 237,500 transgender youth ages 13-17 live in states that have passed laws banning access to gender-affirming care or where such a law was introduced or pending in the 2024 legislative session. This is slightly more than three-quarters of all transgender youth in the country, although several of the bans were introduced in states that are unlikely to enact them.
- 113,900 transgender youth—more than a third of transgender youth in the U.S.—live in states that have enacted bans on access to gender-affirming care.
- Of these, 18,500 transgender youth live in states with gender-affirming care bans that cannot currently be enforced due to court orders.
- 123,600 additional transgender youth live in states where a gender-affirming care ban was pending in the 2024 legislative session but has not yet been enacted.
- 113,900 transgender youth—more than a third of transgender youth in the U.S.—live in states that have enacted bans on access to gender-affirming care.
Bans on Transgender Participation in Sports
- 222,500 transgender youth ages 13-17 live in states that have enacted laws restricting access to school sports for transgender students or where such a law has been introduced or pending in the 2024 legislative session. This is nearly three-quarters of all transgender youth in the country.
- 120,200 transgender youth—forty percent of transgender youth in the U.S.—live in states that restrict access to school sports for transgender students.
- Of these, 11,100 transgender youth live in states with sports participation bans that cannot currently be enforced due to court orders.
- 102,300 additional transgender youth live in states where a sports ban was pending in the 2024 legislative session but has not yet been enacted.
- 120,200 transgender youth—forty percent of transgender youth in the U.S.—live in states that restrict access to school sports for transgender students.
Bans on Access to Bathrooms and Other Facilities
- 117,000 transgender youth ages 13-17 live in states that have passed laws directly or indirectly banning transgender students from using school bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity or where such a law was introduced or pending in the 2024 legislative session.
- 38,600 transgender youth live in states that ban transgender students from using school bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity or indirectly block their access through laws defining “sex” to exclude transgender people.
- Of these, 1,000 transgender youth live in Idaho, where the state’s bathroom ban has been blocked by a court.
- 78,400 additional transgender youth live in states where a bathroom or facilities ban or similar law was pending in the 2024 legislative session but has not yet been enacted.
- 38,600 transgender youth live in states that ban transgender students from using school bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity or indirectly block their access through laws defining “sex” to exclude transgender people.
Bans on Gender-Affirming Pronouns
- 121,100 transgender youth ages 13-17 live in states that have passed laws restricting or prohibiting the use of gender-affirming pronouns or where such a law has been introduced in the 2023-2024 legislative sessions. This is forty percent of transgender youth in the country.
- 49,100 transgender youth live in states that restrict or prohibit the use of gender-affirming pronouns, particularly in schools and other state-run facilities.
- 72,000 additional transgender youth live in states where a similar restriction or prohibition of gender-affirming pronouns was pending in the 2024 legislative sessions but has not yet been enacted.
At the same time, many transgender youth live in states that offer one of two kinds of laws that aim to protect transgender youth. Nearly half of transgender youth live in states that protect their access to gender-affirming care (“shield” laws), and two-thirds of states have enacted laws or policies prohibiting conversion therapy intended to change the sexual orientation, gender identity, or transgender expression of youth.
- An estimated 198,000 transgender youth ages 13-17 live in 27 states and D.C. that have either a “shield” law or a conversion therapy ban, and 146,700 transgender youth—half of all transgender youth in the U.S.—live in 14 states and D.C. that have both “shield” laws and conversion therapy bans.
- All transgender youth in the Northeast live in a state that has banned conversion therapy, and several—five of nine states—also have a “shield” law. Nearly all transgender youth in the West (97%) live in a state with one or both protective laws.
Gender-Affirming Care “Shield” Laws
- 163,800 transgender youth ages 13-17—over half of all transgender youth in the U.S.—live in eighteen states and D.C. that have enacted “shield” laws, protecting access to gender-affirming care, or where a “shield” law was introduced or pending in the 2024 legislative session.
- 146,700 transgender youth—nearly half of transgender youth ages 13-17—live in fourteen states and D.C. that have already enacted gender-affirming care “shield” laws.
- 17,100 transgender youth ages 13-17 live in an additional four states where a “shield” law was pending in the 2024 legislative session but has not yet been enacted.
Bans on Conversion Therapy
- 204,800 transgender youth ages 13-17 live in states that have banned the practice of conversion therapy or where a ban on conversion therapy was introduced in the 2023- 2024 legislative sessions but has not yet been enacted. This is more than two-thirds of all transgender youth.
- 198,000 transgender youth—two-thirds of transgender youth in the U.S.—live in all states with conversion therapy bans.
- 6,800 transgender youth ages 13-17 live in an additional four states where a ban on conversion therapy was pending in the 2024 legislative session but has not yet been enacted.