Benjamin A. Lebovitz

Research

Ben's research examines K–12 education policies, programs, and practices; LGBTQ+ student well-being; educational leadership; sensemaking; and the politics of education, using quantitative and mixed methods and research-to-practice partnerships.

Ben presenting to the Interdisciplinary Training Program in Education Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in February 2026
Ben presenting to the Interdisciplinary Training Program in Education Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in February 2026.
Ben, right, with Mollie McQuillan, center, and Erin Gill, left, at GSAFE's 2023 Safe Schools, Safe Communities conference
Ben (right) with Mollie McQuillan (center) and Erin Gill (left) at GSAFE's 2023 Safe Schools, Safe Communities conference.

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

  • 2026
    McQuillan, M.T., Lebovitz, B.A., Mayo, C., & Adelman, M. Policy ambiguity, procedural erasure, and discretionary discrimination: Why courageous, gender-inclusive educational leadership is imperative during authoritarian drift. Educational Administration Quarterly. Online first.
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X261462878
  • 2026
    Osworth, D., Lebovitz, B.A., & Jackson, M. (2026). Persistently disciplined: Evidence of out-of-school suspension disparities in South Carolina. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk. Online first.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/10824669.2026.2658086
  • 2025
    McQuillan, M.T., & Lebovitz, B.A. (2025). The chilling effect of a “parents’ rights” legal challenge and community resistance aimed at protecting the rights of trans people in K–12 schools. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership.
    https://doi.org/10.1177/15554589251392221
  • 2024
    McQuillan, M.T., Cimpian, J., Lebovitz, B.A., & Gill, E.K. (2024). Transgender adolescent school climate, mental health, and adult social support. JAMA Pediatrics.
    https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.3079
  • 2024
    McQuillan, M.T., Lebovitz, B.A., & Harbin, L. (2024). The disruptive power of policy erasure: How state legislators and school boards fail to take up trans-affirming policies while leaning into anti-LGBTQ+ policies. Educational Policy, 38(3), 642–699.
    https://doi.org/10.1177/08959048231218206

Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters

Research Reports

  • 2025
    McQuillan, M.T., Lebovitz, B.A., Gill, E.K., French, W., & Juchems, B. (2025). Wisconsin PK–12 school board policies concerning LGBTQ+ students. Madison, WI: Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools (GSAFE).
    Read the report →
  • 2025
    McQuillan, M.T., Gill, E.K., Gong, X., Lebovitz, B.A., Swetz, A., & Juchems, B. (2025). Physical activity and trans students in Wisconsin schools. Madison, WI: GSAFE and FAIR Wisconsin.
    Read the report →
  • 2024
    Lebovitz, B.A., Gill, E.K., & McQuillan, M.T. (2024). Trans students’ wellbeing in Wisconsin schools. Madison, WI: School of Education.
    Read the report →

Works Under Review

  • Lebovitz, B.A., McGraw, K.J., Muñiz, D.B., Rasheed, Q.A., & Phillips, C. Graduate student councils as sites of service, strain, and possibility: Addressing organizational disconnects. Revision under review in the Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership.
  • Lebovitz, B.A., & Bartlett, C. Eroding equity: How administrative rescissions undermine students’ equal access. Revision under review in Teachers College Record.
  • Lebovitz, B.A., & Paino, M.L. Contingent civil rights: Transgender and gender-diverse students and the politicization of federal protection. Revision under review for a special issue in AERA Open.
  • Paino, M.L., & Lebovitz, B.A. Know your rights: Accessibility of youth legal resources. Under review in Educational Researcher.

Other Writing

  • Newsletter
    Lebovitz, B.A.(2026, June). Issue 001: Transgender youth participation in athletics. QueerED: Research to practice for LGBTQ+-inclusive schools and communities. Substack.
    Read QueerED →
  • Feature
    Lebovitz, B.A. (2025). “Your research is resistance. Keep writing!” In AERA Graduate Student Newsletter “The Manual,” 28, 14.
  • Student Journal
    Lebovitz, B.A. (2022). Transgender athletic bans: Policy diffusion defies local example and federal support. Wisconsin Journal for Education Law and Policy, 1(1).
  • Policy Report
    Lebovitz, B.A., & Tidwell, T. (2020, June). Recommendations for teachers. In Roadmap for Reopening Schools. Arizona Department of Education.

Grants & Fellowships

National Fellowships

Research Grants

Fellowships at UW–Madison

Travel Awards & Additional Funding (13 awards)
  • American Educational Research Association, Division L Conference Travel Grant — $500 (Spring 2026)
  • Roe L. Johns Travel Grant Award, Association for Education Finance & Policy — $500 (Spring 2026)
  • School of Education, Office of Research and Scholarship — $1,500 (Spring 2026)
  • AERA Graduate Student Council Travel Support — $2,000 (2024–2026)
  • Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis, Conference Travel Grant — $2850 (2022–2026)
  • Institute for Diversity Science Conference Travel Grant, UW–Madison — $1,000 (Spring 2025)
  • Hartzman International Travel Award, UW–Madison — $1,500 (Spring 2025)
  • Interdisciplinary Training Program in Education Sciences, Travel Funding — $6,000 (2022–2025)
  • UW–Madison Graduate School, Student Research Grant — $1,500 (2022–2023)

Presentations

Selected talks and conference presentations.

Invited Talks (1)
  • Lebovitz, B.A. (2026, February). “Pathways of Protection: Adult Support, Peer Climate, and Trans Youth Well-Being in Wisconsin.” Wisconsin Center for Education Research seminar series, Interdisciplinary Training Program in Education Sciences, UW–Madison.
American Educational Research Association (AERA) (11)
  • Lebovitz, B.A. (2026, April). “Performativity in the Lifeworld: How Youth Assert Their Identity in the Shadow of Legislative Erasure.” Paper presentation, Los Angeles, CA.
  • McQuillan, M.T., Lebovitz, B.A., Adelman, M., & Mayo, C. (2026, April). “Policy Ambiguity, Erasure, and Discrimination: Why Gender-Inclusive Educational Leadership is Imperative During Authoritarian Drift.” Symposium paper, Los Angeles, CA.
  • Lebovitz, B.A., & Paino, M.L. (2026, April). “The Politicization of Protection: Executive Power and OCR’s Shifting Role in Safeguarding Trans Students.” Roundtable, Los Angeles, CA.
  • Gill, E.K., Lebovitz, B.A., & McQuillan, M.T. (2026, April). “Sidelined: How Policy Debates Shaped Trans Students’ Sports Involvement and Physical Activity Trends in Wisconsin.” Poster, Los Angeles, CA.
  • Lebovitz, B.A. (2025, April). “Supportive Adults and Trans and Cisgender Youth Mental Health Outcomes: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.” Poster, Denver, CO. AERA iPresentation Gallery.
  • Lebovitz, B.A., Iverson, D.E., & Gill, E.K. (2025, April). “The Racialization of DEI Scholarship: A Call for an Intersectional Approach.” Paper, Denver, CO.
  • McQuillan, M.T., & Lebovitz, B.A. (2025, April). “Whose Parents’ Rights?: A Case Study of One District’s Response to an Unsuccessful ‘Parents’ Rights’ Legal Challenge.” Paper, Denver, CO.
  • Lebovitz, B.A., Royal, C., Kelly, M.G., Reyes-Kaura, P., Rivas, L., Utter, A.N., & Wang, J. (2024, April). “School Funding Formula Woes: A Focus on Philadelphia School Funding Policies and Their Implementation.” Chair, Graduate Student Council Division L Fireside Chat, Philadelphia, PA.
  • McQuillan, M.T., Lebovitz, B.A., & Harbin, L. (2024, April). “The Impact of a Protective Federal Ruling for Transgender Students Across Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.” Paper, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Lebovitz, B.A., Harbin, L., & McQuillan, M.T. (2023, April). “A Title IX Compliance Case Study: Downstream Gender Identity Nondiscrimination and a Federal Court Decision.” Roundtable, Chicago, IL.
  • Lebovitz, B.A. (2023, April). “The Normative Colonization of ‘Being’: Queer Student Voice and Restrictive Athletic Legislation.” Roundtable, Chicago, IL.
Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) (5)
  • Lebovitz, B.A., & Paino, M.L. (2026, March). “Enforcement in Flux: How Presidential Administrations Shape Civil Rights Protections for Trans Students.” Paper, Chicago, IL.
  • Gill, E.K., Lebovitz, B.A., & McQuillan, M.T. (2026, March). “The Educational Costs of Policy Erasure: The Impact of LGBTQ+-Restrictive State Bills on Student Safety and Mental Health.” Paper, Chicago, IL.
  • McQuillan, M.T., Gill, E.K., & Lebovitz, B.A. (2026, March). “The Cost of Policy Erasure on Physical Health: Decreasing Athletic Participation and Physical Activity Among Transgender Youth, 2018–2024.” Paper, Chicago, IL.
  • Lebovitz, B.A., & McQuillan, M.T. (2025, March). “Exploring the Impact of Adult Support through Structural Equation Modeling: A Focus on Trans Youth.” Paper, Washington, D.C.
  • McQuillan, M.T., Cimpian, J., Gill, E.K., & Lebovitz, B.A. (2024, March). “Trans Youth Need Educational Supports: An Evaluation of School Climate, Mental Health, and Who Trans Youth Seek Out for Support.” Paper, Baltimore, MD.
University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) (8)
  • Lebovitz, B.A., & Paino, M.L. (2025, November). “Executive Power, Civil Rights, and Politicized Protection: OCR’s Shifting Role in Safeguarding Trans Students.” Paper, San Juan, PR.
  • McQuillan, M.T., & Lebovitz, B.A. (2025, November). “Resisting Erasure: Leaders’ Responses and Community Resilience to an Anti-Trans Legal Challenge.” Paper, San Juan, PR.
  • McQuillan, M.T., Lebovitz, B.A., & Gill, E.K. (2024, November). “Policy Protections Only Go So Far: Relationships Between LGBTQ+-Inclusive Supports and Student School Climate and Health.” Paper, Los Angeles, CA.
  • McQuillan, M.T., Cimpian, J., Lebovitz, B.A., & Gill, E.K. (2024, November). “Trans Youth Need Educational Supports: School Climate, Health, and Where Trans Youth Find Support.” Paper, Los Angeles, CA.
  • Lebovitz, B.A., Harbin, L., & McQuillan, M.T. (2023, November). “Examining Federal Influence on Local Policy Uptake: Whitaker’s Impact on School Policies Across Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.” Paper, Minneapolis, MN.
  • Lebovitz, B.A. (2023, November). “On the Basis of Sex: Title IX and Athletic Discrimination Against Trans and Nonbinary Youth.” Ignite! session, annual meeting and Graduate Student Summit, Minneapolis, MN.
  • Lebovitz, B.A., Harbin, L., & McQuillan, M.T. (2022, November). “Are States Complying with Federal Rulings Concerning Transgender Students? A Case Study of Whitaker v. Kenosha.” Roundtable, Seattle, WA.
  • Lebovitz, B.A. (2022, November). “Queering the Lifeworld: Questioning ‘Being’ Amidst the Legislative Landscape for Transgender and Nonbinary Students.” Roundtable, annual meeting and Graduate Student Summit, Seattle, WA.
Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) (3)
  • Lebovitz, B.A., & McQuillan, M.T. (2026, August). “Academic Engagement, Discipline, and Achievement Among Transgender Youth: Evidence from Linked Administrative and Survey Data.” Paper, SOGIE Global Forum on Health, Development, and Rights, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
  • McQuillan, M.T., Gill, E.K., Lebovitz, B.A., & French, W.T. (2026, August). “When Policy Excludes: Trends in Sports Participation and Activity Levels for Transgender High-School Students.” Paper, SOGIE Global Forum, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
  • Gill, E.K., Lebovitz, B.A., & McQuillan, M.T. (2026, August). “How Escalating LGBTQ+-Restrictive Legislation Shapes Student Well-Being: Evidence from a Population-Based Study.” Poster, SOGIE Global Forum, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI) (2)
  • McQuillan, M.T., Cimpian, J., Lebovitz, B.A., & Gill, E.K. (2025, February). “Trans and Nonbinary Youth Need Educational Supports: An Evaluation of Who Trans Youth Seek Out for Support.” Paper, Melbourne, Australia.
  • Lebovitz, B.A., McQuillan, M.T., Grooms, A., & Henry, K.L. (2025, February). “Navigating Inequitable Educational Policies and Climates: The Experiences of Trans and Black Educators in United States Schools.” Symposium chair, Melbourne, Australia.
APPAM, ELA & AdvancED Equity Summit (4)
  • Lebovitz, B.A. (2025, November). “Federal Web Changes under the Current Administration: Erasing Identity, Evading Injunctions, and Reducing Data Access.” Paper, Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management, Seattle, WA.
  • Lebovitz, B.A. (2025, November). “Executive Power, Civil Rights, and OCR’s Shifting Role for Trans Students.” Manuscript presentation, AERA Open special issue convening, AdvancED Equity Summit, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA.
  • Paino, M.L., & Lebovitz, B.A. (2025, November). “Know Your Rights: How Legal Advocacy Groups Provide and Empower LGBTQ+ Youth with Legal Literacy Tools.” Paper, Education Law Association, Kansas City, MO.
  • Lebovitz, B.A. (2022, November). “Title IX’s Athletic Exclusion: Blurring Separate but Equal Gender Practices.” Roundtable, Education Law Association, Orlando, FL.
Universities of Wisconsin (4)
  • McQuillan, M.T., Lebovitz, B.A., & Gill, E.K. (2026, January). “Student School Climate and Academic Outcomes for LGBTQ+ and TGD Students.” Paper, Institute for Diversity Science Spring Mini Conference, Madison, WI.
  • Lebovitz, B.A., & McQuillan, M.T. (2025, May). “Exploring the Impact of Adult Support through Structural Equation Modeling: A Focus on Trans Youth.” Paper, Institute for Diversity Science Spring Junior Conference, Madison, WI.
  • Lebovitz, B.A. (2024, March). “Queer Youth and Legislative Erasure: Navigating Identity in the Shadow of Anti-Trans Athletic Policies.” Paper, Educational Policy Studies Conference, Madison, WI.
  • Maloney, S., Lebovitz, B.A., & Yang, M. (2023, April). “Transgender Athletic Participation: A Systematic Literature and Policy Review.” Panel, UW System Women’s and Gender Studies Consortium Conference, virtual.
Practitioner-Oriented Events (4)
  • McQuillan, M.T., & Lebovitz, B.A. (2026, March). “Framing Conversation about Trans and LGBTQ+ Student Well-Being with Wisconsin Data.” Workshop, GSAFE’s Safe Schools, Safe Communities Statewide Conference on LGBTQ+ Youth, Madison, WI.
  • McQuillan, M.T., Lebovitz, B.A., & French, W.M. (2024, November). “Framing Conversation about Trans and LGBTQ+ Student Well-Being Using Statewide Data.” Workshop, GSAFE Statewide Conference, Madison, WI.
  • McQuillan, M.T., Herrmann, M., Lebovitz, B.A., & Gill, E.K. (2023, April). “LGBTQ+ Inclusive School Decision-Making with Data and Policy.” Workshop, GSAFE Statewide Conference, Green Bay, WI.
  • Trujillo, L., Lebovitz, B.A., Godfrey, K., Kuhn, E., & Hamilton, S. (2021, November). “Supporting Transgender and Nonbinary Students in the Classroom.” Panel, Tucson Regional Educator Collaborative and University of Arizona, virtual.

In the Media