National
White House to hold anti-bullying conference next week
LGBT, anti-bullying advocates plan attendance
White House (Blade photo by Michael Key)
The White House is set to hold a conference next week in which President Obama will hear concerns about anti-LGBT bullying.
The anti-bullying prevention conference, scheduled to take place at the White House on March 10, is being hosted by Obama, the Department of Education and the Department of Health & Human Services.
In a conference call Tuesday, Melody Barnes, White House domestic policy adviser, said the conference will bring together students, parents, teachers and other leaders who “have been affected by bullying, and who have taken action to prevent bullying.”
“Participants will have the opportunity to speak with the president and representatives from the highest levels of the administration about bullying as well as ways to take action to address it in their communities,” Barnes said.
Bullying against LGBT students received renewed attention late last year when several young men who were gay or perceived to be gay took their own lives after they were reportedly bullied. Among them was Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers University student, who leaped off the George Washington Bridge in September after a video was posted online of him reportedly having a sexual encounter with another man in his dorm room.
Barnes noted that Obama appeared in the fall for a video for the “It Gets Better” campaign to speak out against anti-gay bullying. Barnes called the issue “very, very near to the president and the first lady’s heart.”
“The president believes we must ensure schools are safe for all kids for every single child who walks through that door, and we look forward to this conference and the opportunity to hear from individuals from diverse backgrounds about how bullying has affected their lives as well as attempts individuals and communities have taken to stop it,” Barnes said.
Barnes added more details would be made available about the conference in the future, such as the names of participants. Sources have told the Washington Blade that representatives from LGBT advocacy groups would be among the participants in the conference.
Eliza Byard, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, said she’s participating in the conference with GLSEN board member Sirdeaner Walker, a Springfield, Mass., resident whose son, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover committed suicide after being subjected to anti-gay taunts in 2009.
“Events like this are very important ceremonial moments for public commitments on the part of those in the position to really make a difference on this issue,” she said. “Hopefully, we will see some progress come from it.”
The Trevor Project is also set to have representation at the conference. Dave Reynolds, the Trevor Project’s senior public policy and research manager, is scheduled to represent the organization.
In an e-mail to the Blade, Charles Robbins, executive director of the Trevor Project, emphasized the importance of the conference.
“We hope to see further alignment in protecting LGBT young people in our nation’s schools from emotional and physical harm,” Robbins said.
Michael Cole-Schwartz, spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, said his organization will also have a presence at the conference and is “looking forward to this opportunity to shine the spotlight on the epidemic of anti-LGBT bullying in our schools.”
“HRC’s Welcoming Schools program, developed for K-5 schools, seeks to end the name-calling and gender stereotyping too often prevalent and this will be a great opportunity to explore strategies with other leaders to address these issues,” Cole-Schwartz said.
LGBT advocates are hoping to pass anti-bullying measures — introduced in the last Congress as the Student Non-Discrimination Act and the Safe Schools Improvement Act — as part of the Education & Secondary Education Act reauthorization, which is expected to come before lawmakers during the 112th Congress. Neither piece of legislation was addressed during the conference call.
Asked whether she wants to see a commitment from the White House to include anti-bullying language in ESEA reauthorization, Byard replied, “We certainly have pressed that case before and we’ll continue to do so.”
“We’re very pleased at this point to have bi-partisan support for such action in both houses of Congress and take every opportunity that we can to make the case with everyone involved in the process about how incredibly important very specific, actual language in that context would be, and I certainly hope that we will receive such a commitment,” she said.
Obama administration officials discussed the upcoming conference in the context of highlighting Obama’s interest in bolstering education efforts in the United States to facilitate greater competition in the global marketplace.
White House Deputy Communications Director Jen Psaki said “there’s absolutely nothing more central” to the country’s economic success and global competitiveness than education.
“This is an issue that the president feels is not a Democratic or Republican issue, but an economic issue,” Psaki said. “That’s one of the reasons he proposed an 11 percent increase in education in his [fiscal year] 2012 budget, even while making tough cuts in other areas.”
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said one of Obama’s priorities is to turn around the nation’s poorest performing schools by reducing the national high-school drop out rate and expanding education opportunities.
“In the State of the Union address and in his [fiscal year] 2012 budget, President Obama has called for key investments in education,” Duncan said. “He believes in order to win the future for this generation and next, we must dramatically accelerate learning for all children.”
Obama and Duncan are set to tour the country in the coming weeks to emphasize the importance of improving schools and education programs.
On Friday, Obama is set to make an appearance at Miami Central High School in Florida along with former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush. Duncan said the school, which received nearly $790,000 in federal money to improve education efforts, is “a turn around model” for reducing drop outs and offering new opportunities for students.
National
Glisten’s 30th annual Day of Silence to take place April 10
Campaign began as student-led protests against anti-LGBTQ bullying, discrimination
Glisten’s 30th annual Day of Silence will take place on April 10.
The annual Day of Silence began as a student-led protest in response to bullying and discrimination that LGBTQ students face. It is now a national campaign for the LGBTQ community and their allies to come together for LGBTQ youth.
It takes place annually and has multiple ways for supporters to get involved in the movement.
Glisten, originally GLSEN, champions LGBTQ issues in schools, grades K-12. Glisten’s mission is to create more inclusive and accepting environments for LGBTQ students through curriculum, supportive measures, education campaigns, and engagement, such as the Day of Silence.
There are three main ways for the community to get involved in the Day of Silence.
Glisten has a Day of Silence frame, a series of pictures used as profile photos across social media that feature individuals holding signs. The signs allow for personalization, by providing a space to put the individual’s name, followed by filling in the prompt “ … and I am ENDING the silence by…”
Participants are encouraged to post the photo on social media and use it as a profile picture. The templates can be found on Google Drive through this link.
Using #DayOfSilence and #NSCS, as well as tagging Glisten’s official Page @glistencommunity, is another way to participate in the Day of Silence.
Glisten also encourages participants to tag creators, friends, family and use a call to action in their caption, to call attention to the facts and stories behind the Day of Silence.
“Today’s administration in the U.S. wants us to stay silent, submit to their biased and hurtful conformity, and stop fighting for our right to be authentically ourselves,” said Glisten CEO Melanie Willingham-Jaggers. “We urge supporters to use their social platforms and check in with local chapters to be boots on the ground to help LGBTQ+ students feel seen, heard, supported, and less alone. By participating in the ‘Day of Silence,’ you are showing solidarity with young people as they navigate identity, safety, and belonging. Our voices matter.”
Hungary
Vance speaks at Orbán rally in Hungary
Anti-LGBTQ prime minister trailing ahead of April 12 vote
Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday urged Hungarians to support Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the country’s April 12 elections.
“We have got to get Viktor Orbán re-elected as prime minister of Hungary,” Vance told Orbán supporters who gathered at Budapest’s MTK Sportpark.
Vance and Orbán on Tuesday met before they held a press conference in Budapest. Orbán also spoke at the rally.
The U.S. vice president after he took to the stage called President Donald Trump, who told the crowd he is “a big fan of Viktor” and is “with him all the way.” Vance, as he did during Tuesday’s press conference with Orbán, criticized the European Union.
“We want you to make a decision about your future with no outside forces pressuring you or telling you what to do. I’m not telling you exactly who to vote for, but what I am telling you is that the bureaucrats in Brussels, those people should not be listened to,” said Vance. “Listen to your hearts, listen to your souls, and listen to the sovereignty of the Hungarian people.”
Vance in his speech noted “across the West, we’ve got a small band of radicals” who, among other things, “condemn children to mutilization and sterilization in the name of gender care.” Vance also criticized a “far-left ideology given quarter in university circles, in the media, and in our entertainment industry, and increasingly among bureaucrats on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Vice President JD Vance speaks at MTK Sportpark in Budapest, Hungary, on April 7, 2026
Orbán has been in office since 2010. He and his Fidesz-KDNP coalition government have faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
A Hungarian activist with whom the Washington Blade previously spoke said it is “impossible to change your gender legally in Hungary” because of a 2020 law that “banned legal gender recognition of transgender and intersex people.” Hungarian MPs the same year effectively prohibited same-sex couples from adopting children and defined marriage in the country’s constitution as between a man and a woman.
The European Commission in 2022 sued Hungary, which is a member of the EU, over the country’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law.
Hungarian lawmakers in March 2025 passed a bill that banned Pride events and allowed authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify those who participate in them. MPs later amended the Hungarian constitution to ban public LGBTQ events.
Upwards of 100,000 people last June defied the ban and marched in Budapest’s annual Pride parade.
Polls indicate Orbán is trailing Péter Magyar and his center-right Tisza party ahead of the April 12 election. Vance at Tuesday’s rally told Orbán supporters that he and Trump “want you to make a decision about your future with no outside forces pressuring you or telling you what to do.”
“I’m not telling you exactly who to vote for, but what I am telling you is that the bureaucrats in Brussels, those people should not be listened to,” said Vance. “Listen to your hearts, listen to your souls, and listen to the sovereignty of the Hungarian people.”
“Unlike some of the leadership of Brussels, I’m not threatening you or telling you that we’re going to withhold funds to which you’re legally entitled,” he added. “You will make the decision about Hungary’s future.”
Magyar on Tuesday appeared to dismiss Vance’s comments.
“No foreign country may interfere in Hungarian elections. This is our country. Hungarian history is not written in Washington, Moscow, or Brussels — it is written in Hungary’s streets and squares,” said Magyar on his X account.
A spokesperson for the Háttér Society, a Hungarian LGBTQ rights group, told the Blade that neither Magyar, nor his party have reached out to the organization.
The spokesperson said the group does not “campaign directly for them or for any other political party.” The Háttér Society, however, is encouraging LGBTQ Hungarians to vote.
“Ahead of election day, we will encourage everyone on our social media channels to go out and vote, as this is the only way we can act against a system that has been working against the LGBTQI community for many years,” said the spokesperson.
The White House
White House ends protections for trans students in multiple school districts
Cape Henlopen School District in Delaware among administration’s targets
The Department of Education has terminated agreements with five school districts and a college aimed at protecting the rights of transgender students, backtracking requirements made in prior administrations, according to the Associated Press.
Allowing the reversal of these federal obligations removes formerly mandatory measures, including faculty training on responding to a student’s preferred name and pronouns, and policies allowing trans children to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity.
This policy change is a major shift from past democratic-led administrations, and will impact Delaware Valley School District in Pennsylvania, Sacramento City Unified School District in California, Cape Henlopen School District in Delaware, Fife School District in Washington, and La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, as well as Taft College in California.
Delaware Valley School District received notice from the Trump-Vance administration in February and has since voted to roll back anti-discrimination protections. Other schools, like Sacramento City Unified School District, said the change in minimum protections a district must offer will not affect their policies because it “remains committed to the support of our LGBTQ+ students and staff.”
This is part of a wider wave of anti-trans actions taken by the Trump-Vance administration. This White House has penalized schools attempting to accommodate students’ gender identity, filed lawsuits in California and Minnesota over state policies allowing trans students to participate in interscholastic sports, and opened civil rights investigations into multiple schools and universities over their policies on trans students.
Kimberly Richey, the Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, said the action underscored the administration’s efforts to prevent trans students from participating in girls’ and women’s sports teams and accessing shared locker rooms.
“Today, the Trump administration is removing the unnecessary and unlawful burdens that prior administrations imposed on schools in its relentless pursuit of a radical transgender agenda,” she said in a written statement.
According to the AP, this is just one instance of the administration rescinding civil rights protections in education. Last year, the Department of Education terminated two agreements: one involving the removal of books from a school library in Georgia, and another addressing harsh discipline and unequal education opportunities for Native students in the Rapid City Area School District in South Dakota.
Shiwali Patel, the senior director of education justice at the National Women’s Law Center, issued a statement in response to the removal of protections for trans students, saying the rollback will negatively impact all students — not just trans ones.
“There is absolutely no basis for what the Department of Education is doing, and it is unimaginably cruel. Title IX exists to ensure that students are protected from discrimination and treated with dignity so that they can learn and thrive in our schools,” Patel said. “It’s what students, families, lawmakers, and advocates fought for when Title IX was passed decades ago. But the Trump administration’s Department of Education has spent its limited resources to strip Title IX of that very purpose.”
She continued, highlighting the issues that will arise from the agreement removals in schools.
“Real complaints of discrimination and sexual assault are going unanswered by the Department of Education while conservative lawmakers continue to escalate their attacks on a small minority of students,” the nationally recognized Title IX expert and advocacy leader for gender-based harassment added. “Parents, teachers, and students need the Department to focus on addressing real harms on campuses instead of rolling back policies that keep all students safe.”
The schools that had their agreements terminated vary, but stem from the same issue: treating trans students with the same protections from harassment as their cisgender peers.
In 2023, Taft College, a community college in California’s Central Valley, became one of the few schools to settle a case with the Department of Education’s Civil Rights Office after a student accused faculty of discrimination, including refusing to use the student’s preferred pronouns. The college agreed to faculty training on Title IX protections and revised its policies to clarify that refusing to use a person’s preferred name and pronoun can constitute harassment.
The now-canceled agreement with Sacramento City Unified School District stemmed from a 2022 complaint brought by a student after a teacher refused to use the student’s preferred pronouns and/or refused to allow the male-identifying student to work in a boys’ group for a class activity. The 2024 resolution agreement had mandated training for employees on civil rights law, sexual harassment, and how to handle formal complaints.
Under a settlement the Delaware Valley School District reached with the Obama-Biden administration, the district was required to permit students to use bathrooms aligned with their gender identity. In February, the Trump-Vance administration sent the district a letter rescinding the settlement and requiring the rollback of antidiscrimination protections for trans students. The school board voted in late March to change its policies accordingly.
This move is part of a broader pattern of anti-trans actions from the White House since Trump returned to office.
In addition to restricting protections in federally funded education spaces, the administration has attempted to end trans girls’ and women’s participation in sports competitions and has sued states that have not complied. It has also blocked trans and nonbinary people from choosing sex markers on passports and attempted to stop those under 19 from receiving gender-affirming medical care.
Glisten’s 30th annual Day of Silence to take place April 10
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Vance speaks at Orbán rally in Hungary
White House ends protections for trans students in multiple school districts
Amendments to India’s transgender rights law criticized
Belarusian lawmakers approve bill to crackdown on LGBTQ rights
How new barriers to health care coverage are hitting D.C.
Calendar: April 3-9
Women’s FEST returns to Rehoboth Beach next week
