Despite a 2022 study commissioned by Puerto Rico’s Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration (ASSMCA) revealing that LGBT+ students face greater mental health risks than their heterosexual peers, the Department of Education eliminated protections against bullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity in 2024. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2020–22, conducted by the Central University of the Caribbean and surveying 112,000 students from grades 7 to 12, found that adolescents identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, or nonbinary experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, substance use, suicidal ideation and attempts, and school bullying.
Alarming Mental Health Statistics
The most concerning findings involve suicidal ideation and attempts. Among students identifying as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, 21.6% reported having suicidal thoughts in the past year and 25.2% reported attempted suicide—five times higher than heterosexual students (4.4% and 5%, respectively). Those who identified “another way” (interpreted as nonbinary or trans) reported 15.7% suicidal thoughts and 20.8% attempts, three times higher than heterosexual students. Clinical psychologist Miguel Vázquez stated, “When you see statistics on suicidal thoughts and attempts, these young people are literally dying.”
Policy Reversals and Current Challenges
On September 20, 2024, then-Education Secretary Yanira Raíces signed Circular Letter 004-2024-2025, removing sexual orientation and gender identity from bullying intervention protocols in public schools, repealing the previous inclusive protections. The administration has also removed coverage for hormone treatments for trans people from Plan Vital, the government health insurance program. Current Secretary of Education Eliezer Ramos Parés stated that bullying “is not something that has been normalized” and that existing protocols are sufficient, while denying a significant number of LGBT+ bullying cases occur in schools. ASSMCA commissioned a new University of Puerto Rico study on LGBT+ mental health, with a preliminary report expected in the first half of 2027.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://periodismoinvestigativo.com/2025/10/lgbt-students-unprotected-puerto-rico-schools/