Increasing Access to Reproductive Health Care in Connecticut
Contraception and pregnancy related care is important for the health and safety of all people, including LGBTQ young people.
At a time when access to reproductive healthcare is increasingly under threat, it is important for Connecticut to address the lack of explicit provisions in statute ensuring that minors can confidentially consent to contraceptive care or to pregnancy-related care. HB7213, “An Act Concerning Access to Reproductive Health Care,” will address that gap. On March 17, 2025 GLAD Law submitted testimony in support of HB7213.
GLAD Law supports the right of parents to provide medically necessary care for their children, consistent with medical standards of care. Ideally, children and parents are able to to discuss important health topics that arise in a child’s life. At the same time, it is important for all minors to be able to access certain critical forms of health care regardless of whether they have the consent of their parents.
Expanding Access to Medicaid Fertility Treatment in Connecticut
Connecticut does not currently provide adequate health insurance coverage for people on Husky Health who need fertility treatment. This gap harms those who may be least able to afford to pay out-of-pocket for the steep costs associated with fertility health care, exacerbating disparities in access. Black women are more likely to suffer from infertility than white women, but less likely to receive fertility care. Additionally, a 2021 LGBTQ+ needs assessment in Connecticut identified the affordability of healthcare and insurance not covering LGBTQ+ healthcare services as concerns.
HB7022 will ensure coverage for people on Husky to ensure they have access to family-building healthcare. The bill would also define infertility to align with the standard of care articulated by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
GLAD Law is part of Fertility Access CT (FACT), a campaign to improve access to fertility care so all Connecticut residents have access to the medical care they need to build their families. Learn more about FACT.
Title IX | National
Your Enduring Rights Under Title IX
You may have seen recent news about a federal court issuing an injunction related to US Department of Education Title IX rules and several actions by President Trump attempting to undermine the rights of transgender students.
Here’s what these developments mean for you here in New England.
What is Title IX?
Title IX is a landmark federal law passed in 1972. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in schools and education programs that receive federal funding. It has been and will continue to be vital to improving opportunities, fair treatment, and funding for girls and women. This law has also been instrumental in ensuring that all people, including LGBTQ+ students, have fair access to educational opportunities, regardless of their sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
What happened to the 2024 Rules?
On August 1, 2024, new US Department of Education (DOE) rules went into effect. Among other things, the rules explained that Title IX protects LGBTQ+ students from discrimination and harassment and ensures that transgender students have access to bathrooms and changing rooms consistent with their gender identity. These rules did not “change” Title IX; rather, they explained protections afforded by the plain language of the statute and incorporated the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of Title VII, a similar statute prohibiting sex discrimination in employment.
Twenty-six states, as well as several schools and anti-trans groups, filed lawsuits to stop the DOE from enforcing the 2024 Rules. On January 9, 2025, a federal court in one of these lawsuits blocked the 2024 Rules from going into effect nationwide. Although this order could be appealed, and other cases are ongoing, it is very likely that the new Trump administration will not defend the 2024 Rules, leaving them blocked.
What does that mean for me?
Just like the 2024 Rules did not “change” Title IX, the order blocking the 2024 Rules did not “change” Title IX either. Title IX still prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, which many courts have recognized to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Title IX still requires schools to provide LGBTQ+ students with equal educational opportunities and still gives students and parents the ability to assert their rights to a discrimination-free school environment.
What does Trump’s Executive Order mean for my rights?
On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order attempting to make it the “policy of the United States to recognize two sexes” and intending to deny the rights of transgender people. He followed this with another order on January 29, 2025, threatening teachers who affirm and support students’ transgender identities. The clear purpose of these orders is to cause chaos, confusion, and fear. In the United States, Congress—not the President—writes laws, and the courts—not the President—interpret laws. The Executive Order does not change the rights of students under Title IX to a safe, supportive learning environment and a quality education.
I think my rights have been violated. What can I do?
All New England states have state laws protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ students in schools—including transgender students—as well as state agencies that investigate and enforce violations of those protections. The court order and Executive Order have no impact on state law protections and on students’ statutory rights under Title IX, nor do they change individuals’ rights to bring their own private enforcement actions.
GLAD Law maintains resources for LGBTQ+ students in New England. For more information about the laws in your state, visit our website:
If you have experienced bullying or harassment at school due to your sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, GLAD Law wants to hear from you. Please visit this page to let us know about your experience: https://www.gladlaw.org/TitleIX-Form
This page was last updated in February 2025.
Pride at School | National
Public schools have a responsibility to support and provide a positive environment for all students.
One way that they do this is by displaying support for LGBTQ+ students through Pride symbols and flags.
Public school administrators are legally required to provide the same rights to all students and student clubs under the Equal Access Act. So, for example, if the school allows students from other clubs to hang flags or banners, the school has a legal responsibility to allow their GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) to do the same.
At schools, school officials are able to create guidelines around displaying supportive flags and symbols. Just because they display supportive imagery does not mean that they also need to display offensive imagery if requested to do so. Schools do not need to worry about being forced to put up offensive banners, decorations, or other imagery.
This means schools can fly flags like the Black Lives Matter or Transgender Pride flags to show support for their students. Schools do NOT have to take down these flags, even if someone requests it as a hostile symbol.
What can schools do?
- Keep up existing inclusive flags, signs, and posters.
- Have school faculty meetings where school employees propose new inclusive displays.
- Put up new inclusive displays to show support for their students.
- Provide all student clubs with the same resources.
What should schools not do?
- Schools should not create programs that allow private individuals to propose flag suggestions.
- Schools should not let non-school employees put up displays.
- Schools cannot allow only some groups of students to have clubs and exclude others.
College | National
Every student is entitled to equal educational opportunities and an environment that supports them. They also deserve to show up as and express their authentic selves, which includes having their proper name and pronouns used in classroom and administrative settings. For LGBTQ+ college students, this can prove difficult as there are no overarching policies or laws regarding name and pronoun usage at universities. Public universities often have more protections for LGBTQ+ students whereas private and religious educational institutions may follow different policies. Below you can find some information on best practices and ideas on how to best approach the subject with staff, professors, and administration. The links and resources provided were not compiled by GLAD and have not been vetted by GLAD.
Applying to LGBTQ+ Friendly Universities
Name & Pronoun Use and the Common App
Due to the Common App (a platform that allows students to use one college application to apply to several universities) asking students for their (preferred) names and pronouns, as of January 2022 over 900 universities across the US now have the ability to integrate the use of those names and pronouns, and over 200 universities directly use this information in their campus information systems.
Here you can find a list from August 2023 of The Best Colleges for LGBTQ+ Students in the US. You can also use the Campus Pride Index.
Pronoun and Name Usage on Campus
Professors using your correct name and pronouns:
All students deserve to be treated with respect. One way professors can be respectful is by asking for and using students’ correct name and pronouns (even if they differ from what’s on the students’ records).
If you are being named incorrectly and misgendered here are some steps you can take to advocate for yourself:
- Bring it up to the person misgendering or misnaming you. They may not be aware that they are doing so and might be able/willing to easily change this.
- Share resources. You can find GLSEN’s Pronouns Guide here.
- Start a conversation on campus and advocate for campus-wide change. Connect with Campus Pride to take their trainings and use their LGBTQ+ advocacy resources.
- Go to the Title IX Office. Persistent, intentional misgendering is also something you can raise with the Title IX Office at your university.
Updating your preferred name and pronouns with the registrar’s office:
Some universities now give students the ability to update their name and pronoun information at the registrars’ office so as to not out trans students to their professors and other campus staff. Check out this example of a policy to update for preferred (not legal) names and pronouns from Berklee College of Music.
If your school does not have such a policy and/or is refusing to allow you to update your name and pronouns through the registrar’s office, you may be able to make a Title IX complaint. Title IX protects LGBTQ+ students from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Read more about Title IX here.
Because of FERPA protections, if you are over 18, by law you are able to update your name and pronouns at your college without that information being shared with your parents, guardians, spouse, or financial benefactors.
Advocating for correct name and pronoun usage on campus:
Campus Pride has great advocacy trainings and resources for students.
University Policies, Best Practices, Etc.
Guides for universities looking to update their practices
Below, university administration, professors, and staff can find guides on supporting LGBTQ+ students in higher education:
GLAD Answers
If you’ve followed these steps and the situation has not resolved or is getting worse, please reach out to GLAD Answers. Complete the online intake form at GLADAnswers.org, email GLADAnswers@glad.org, or leave a voicemail at 800-455-GLAD.
School Resources | Youth | Connecticut
Schools are meant to be student-centered places where young people are safe and can learn what they need to succeed in life. Yet, extremist politicians and well-funded national groups are trying to make public schools and school libraries a site of attacks on LGBTQ+ people, especially youth, and families.
Youth in Connecticut public schools still have rights, and our schools have a responsibility to ensure all students, including LGBTQ+ students, are safe, supported, and able to learn. GLAD and our partners are sharing these resources on your rights as a student, parent, and educator.
Find national resources and organizations here.
The information on this page is not legal advice. Some information on this page may be out-of-date and is currently undergoing revisions. Please contact GLAD Answers with questions or for updated information.
Connecticut Resources
Know Your Rights
Nondiscrimination: Along with other personal characteristics, Connecticut General Laws prohibit discrimination based on gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, and perceived sexual orientation in Connecticut public schools. You can find the law about “equal educational opportunity” and the characteristics protected from discrimination at GL Sec 10-25c.
Anti-Bullying: Connecticut has strict anti-bullying requirements that schools must follow to protect students from a wide variety of bullying, be it physical, verbal, or online. You can find a comprehensive guide directed at parents here as well as updated versions of the law and information on the state’s ‘prevention and intervention’ strategy regarding bullying here.
Guidance for Schools: The Connecticut State Department of Education has created guidance for schools on the Civil Rights Protections and Supports for Transgender Students. Learn more about this guide here. Advances in the law in this area are advancing rapidly. If you have specific questions about a particular matter, please contact an attorney.
Learn more about youth rights in Connecticut on the following Know Your Rights pages:
What to do if you or your child is experiencing bullying, discrimination, or mistreatment in school
If you as a student are or your child is experiencing bullying at least in part because of an LGBTQ+ status or a perceived LGBTQ+ status, you can take steps under both state and federal law to remedy the situation. And you can pursue both avenues at the same time.
Connecticut Anti-Bullying & Harassment Protections
First, it is important to understand what Connecticut considers bullying or harassment. The State of Connecticut defines bullying as: an act that is direct or indirect and severe, persistent or pervasive, which (A) causes physical or emotional harm to an individual, (B) places an individual in reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm, or (C) infringes on the rights or opportunities of an individual at school. “Bullying” shall include, but need not be limited to, a written, oral or electronic communication or physical act or gesture based on any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, socioeconomic status, academic status, physical appearance, or mental, physical, developmental or sensory disability, or by association with an individual or group who has or is perceived to have one or more of such characteristics;
“Cyberbullying” means any act of bullying through the use of the Internet, interactive and digital technologies, cellular mobile telephone or other mobile electronic devices or any electronic communications.
Second, consider whether you want to take action under the school’s anti-bullying or harassment policies, which should be available on the school or district website. If so, follow the steps from the school’s policies, keep copies/screenshots of emails and texts, and take notes of conversations with school staff to show that you have done what you are supposed to and that the school is on notice of your concerns.
If the school is not investigating the bullying, press them to do so. “Connecticut school district safe school climate plans must incorporate a prevention and intervention strategy that may include, but is not limited to, implementation of positive behavioral interventions and supports or other evidence-based model approaches, school rules prohibiting bullying, adult supervision of selected areas of school campuses, individual interventions with students involved in bullying incidents, school-wide school climate training, parent engagement strategies, and culturally-competent school-based curriculum.” Read more here under the heading “What are the policy requirements for schools to prevent and respond to bullying behavior?”
If you are not satisfied with the school’s response, consider filing a formal complaint as described here or in your school’s policy with your school’s principal as well as sending it to the superintendent, school board, etc. when applicable. Please note that this information is from December 2012 and the state of Connecticut is currently updating it.
Another possibility is to contact HealthCare Advocates International which has an LGBTQ+ competency training program for CT schools that may be able to offer workshops the school administration and staff.
GLSEN CT also works to ensure safe schools for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
You can find good student resources and updates regarding Health Services and Health Education from the state here.
You may also choose to file a discrimination complaint with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.
US Harassment & Discrimination Protections for Students
Federal law is also a tool for addressing bullying and harassment. When these behaviors are ignored or inadequately addressed, this may add up to discrimination or the denial of education opportunities based on sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, among other characteristics.
Harassment and bullying because of a person’s LGBTQ+ status likely also constitutes sex discrimination under Title IX protections. Learn more on our Title IX Know Your Rights page.
If you have questions about the specific situation you are experiencing or questions that have not been answered above, please reach out to GLAD Answers.
Get involved in your local community
- Follow the issues that come up in your school committee and town/city council
- Attend meetings when important issues are being discussed and even to participate in the public comment period in which School Board/Committee members listen to input from the public. It is important that they hear support for good work and good arguments for why LGBTQ+ and race-based restrictions are bad educational policy for all students.
- Follow education, curriculum, staffing, policy, library and other issues in school board and local elections, or run for office yourself
- For support in talking about issues related to education and LGBTQ+ students, and more ways to take action, visit Campaign for Our Shared Future.
Organizations and Additional Resources
Organizations
- GLSEN Connecticut works to ensure safe schools for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
- The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities works to eliminate discrimination through civil and human rights law enforcement and to establish equal opportunity and justice for all persons within the state through advocacy and education.
- Connecticut State Department of Education helps ensure equal opportunity and excellence in education for all Connecticut students.
- OutCT is dedicated to building a community through educational, cultural and social programming that promotes acceptance, tolerance and understanding of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
For more youth-focused organizations, visit Youth Organizations | Connecticut.
Additional Resources
Connecticut State Department of Education | Guidance on Civil Rights Protections and Supports for Transgender Students — Guidance for Connecticut school districts on the rights, responsibilities and best educational practices for transgender and gender non-conforming students.
GLSEN | School Climate for LGBTQ Students in Connecticut — Connecticut findings from the GLSEN 2019 National School Climate Survey.
Want to learn more about LGBTQ+ Equality in Connecticut? Visit the Movement Advancement Project’s Connecticut Equality Profile.
GLAD Answers
Still have questions? Contact GLAD Answers for free and confidential legal information, assistance, and referrals. Complete the online intake form at GLADAnswers.org, email GLADAnswers@glad.org, or leave a voicemail at 800-455-GLAD.
Blog
By Polly Crozier, Director of Family Advocacy
The ideological effort to roll back the clock on autonomy and equal rights for LGBTQ+ people and all women hit another milestone recently when the Alabama Supreme Court issued an alarming decision saying that frozen embryos are children, shutting down access to IVF in the state and sending shockwaves across the country. The resulting legislative “fix” in Alabama was no fix and further undermined hopeful parents and their efforts to build their families.
It was a staggeringly clear example of increasing efforts to control our lives and our most personal decisions: to cut off access to fertility healthcare, ban contraception, outlaw abortion in any form without exception, end access to critical healthcare for transgender people, preclude the formation of LGBTQ+ families, and even ban no-fault divorce and take the freedom to marry away from same-sex couples.
But as the outcry against that Alabama ruling shows, people across the country are saying no to that agenda of fear and control.
At GLAD, we are fighting alongside our partners and allies every day to protect our hard-won rights and push back against these attacks, so we can all live how we deserve to – freely, authentically, and joyfully.
In the past week alone, GLAD has:
- Advocated in state houses for crucial shield bills to protect access to reproductive and transgender healthcare in Maine and Rhode Island, while we continue our federal legal challenges to bans on essential healthcare for transgender people in Alabama and Florida. These important bills would build on GLAD’s work to pass shield laws in Massachusetts (2022) and Vermont (2023).
- Championed equitable coverage for fertility healthcare before multiple Connecticut legislative committees, so that Connecticut law reflects the standard of care ensuring LGBTQ+ people and single people on private insurance and Medicaid have access to the healthcare they need to build their families. GLAD was invited to appear with U.S. Senator Blumenthal to advocate not only for the Connecticut legislation but also for the federal Access to Family Building Act that seeks a national right to fertility healthcare.
- Continued our work to update parentage laws in all states so that children of LGBTQ+ parents and children born through assisted reproduction are secure. We appeared in support of the Michigan Family Protection Act, which would repeal Michigan’s criminal ban on surrogacy and ensure protections for children born through assisted reproduction and surrogacy, in the state senate, and hope to see that bill, and a similar bill in Massachusetts, signed into law this session. As we see legislative and court actions put our families at risk, we must pass robust parentage bills like these to protect children and parents.
- As the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard arguments Monday in Braidwood v. Becerra, a case about whether health insurers will have to continue to cover highly effective preventatives like HIV PrEP without copays or deductibles, our friend-of-the-court brief warned that upholding the lower court’s ruling would result in tens of thousands of preventable new HIV cases. GLAD continues to advocate for legislation to remove barriers to PrEP and address the racial disparities in access, including making PrEP available through pharmacies and without insurance prior authorization requirements which create unnecessary delays.
The agenda of fear and control won’t win.
With your support today and in the days to come, together we can protect our access to essential healthcare, our right to build our families, and our freedom to make important, personal decisions about our own lives.
News you may have missed:
Boston Review: GLAD Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights Jennifer Levi and NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter in conversation about the decades-long fight for transgender rights
MassLive: Highlighting LGBTQ+ leaders in Massachusetts, including GLAD Director of Family Advocacy Polly Crozier and GLAD Board Member and CEO of TransHealth Dallas Ducar
Expanding Access to Fertility Care in Connecticut
UPDATE: On May 9, 2024, the Connecticut legislature closed without brining HB0524 and HB05378 to a floor vote. GLAD and our partners will continue to advocate for these crucial fertility access bills next session.
Current Connecticut law requires private insurance providers to cover fertility treatment only for people who meet a limited definition of “infertility” — one that excludes most people who are LGBTQ+ or single. Paying out-of-pocket for expensive fertility care, such as In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF), is not accessible for most people who do not have fertility insurance coverage. This barrier disproportionately impacts people of color, particularly Black women who are more likely to suffer from infertility and experience other healthcare inequities.
HB0524 and HB05378 will expand access to fertility insurance coverage by updating the definition of infertility to encompass the many ways people build their families.
Trans Support & Advocacy | Transgender Rights | Connecticut
GLAD works alongside many great organizations that strive to support and uplift the LGBTQ+ community. Below you will find links to several organizations that work with transgender folks and their loved ones in Connecticut in a variety of areas. For further resources and referrals, please reach out to GLAD Answers by filling out our intake form. You can also email us at GLADAnswers@glad.org or leave a voicemail at 800-455-GLAD.
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