State lawmakers have proposed a record 238 anti-LGBTQ+ bills so far this year, according to an analysis by NBC News—nearly six times as many as in all of 2018.

The bills mostly target K-12 students, but the hate they engender seeps into campus life, creating stress and anxiety for LGBTQ+ students—and spurring them and their allies into action.

Photo: Matt Stensland

Through a program at the Community College of Denver, Lillian Atunu is earning a new credential each semester she goes to school. By stacking up those credentials, she has the potential to earn far more than the roughly $36,000 a year she earns now with overtime.

Colorado lawmakers hope a new package of bills will open up clearer pathways to degrees and credentials that lead to good-paying jobs for thousands more people. 

“Credentials” is a long-established buzzword in workforce development, but it can mean many different things in an ever-changing environment.

In this interview, researchers Paul L. Gaston and Michelle Van Noy break down America's credential ecosystem: how credentials work, the promises and challenges, the differences among credentials, and more.