When I was in high school, my school district adopted regulations that prevented queer students from having their sexual or gender identities disclosed without their consent. The change was liberating. No longer fearful that a misplaced comment about my sexual identity would lead to parental rejection and housing insecurity, I expressed my queerness and authentically engaged with my education for the first time. I drew connections between course materials and queer history; I allowed my queerness to inform discussions with teachers; I explored intellectual passions that were related to my queer identity. But now, my home state is trying to...
