California Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Photo Credit: Office of the Governor)
Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed support for LGBTQ+ suicide hotline measures for K-12 students in direct response to recent reports that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s. plans to cut funding for the national nonprofit that provides the resource to LGBTQ+ people.
“Cutting off kids’ access to help is indefensible. While the Trump administration walks away from its responsibility, California will continue to expand access to life-saving resources, because the life of every child — straight, gay, trans — is worth fighting for,” said Newsom.
Assembly Bill 727, introduced by Assemblymember Mark González, would aim to facilitate pupil and student safety by requiring schools and institutions to have the telephone number and text line for a specified LGBTQ+ suicide hotline provided by The Trevor Project, that is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
Existing law that will be enforced July 1, 2025, requires a public or private school that serves pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, and that issues pupil identification cards to have printed on the identification cards the number for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
This bill would additionally require the list of K-12 public schools and institutions to provide support to youth and their families who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation or bullying on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation or gender expression.
Conservative organizations like the California Family Council are pushing back on this bill, stating that this bill is “forcing LGBTQ advocacy on every student ID — no exemptions for religious schools,” and saying it “undermines families.”
A national 2024 survey by The Trevor Project on mental health of LGBTQ+ young people, reports that one in 10 young LGBTQ+-identifying people in the United States attempted suicide in 2023. Over a third of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered suicide within the past year and that figure was even higher for trans and nonbinary-identifying youth, with that figure being 46%.
The survey also found that half of LGBTQ+ youth who wanted mental health resources and care could not get them. Over 50% of survey respondents answered “a lot” when asked about how often recent politics negatively impact their well being.
The Trevor Project is one of the nonprofit organizations that is currently at high risk for losing their funding under Trump’s budget cuts.
The phone number to call for help is 1-866-488-7386 and the number to text for help is 678-678, or you can send them a message at the site link here.
The National LGBT Media Association represents 13 legacy publications in major markets across the country with a collective readership of more than 400K in print and more than 1 million + online. Learn more here: NationalLGBTMediaAssociation.com.
