Summary
- Trump administration ends California sex education
grant. - Millions cut over gender identity curriculum.
- The state refused to remove transgender references.
- The program included nonbinary and gender topics.
- Dispute centers on education content diversity.
Advocates worry that a growing conflict between
the Trump administration and proponents of comprehensive sex education could
cost more states money.
California was given sixty days to take the
references out of the curriculum for the state’s Personal Responsibility
Education Program (Prep), a federally funded sex education program that tries
to prevent pregnancy and children STIs, according to a warning issued by the
federal Administration for Children and Families in June. Such references, it
claimed, were outside the purview of the program.
California informed the Trump administration on Tuesday that it would not alter its Prep
curriculum, citing the materials’ medical accuracy, necessity in preparing
youth for the intricacies of adult relationships, and prior Administration for
Children and Families approval.
Government records indicate that California’s
Prep grant was worth roughly $6m, although
Reuters reported that California now stands to
lose a total of about $12m in federal funding. The Administration for Children
and Families did not immediately reply to a request for clarification.
“California’s refusal to comply with federal law
and remove egregious gender ideology from federally funded sex-ed materials is
unacceptable,”
Andrew Gradison, the acting assistant secretary at the
Administration for Children and Families, said in a statement.
“Accountability is coming for every state that
uses federal funds to teach children delusional gender ideology.”
Examples listed in the June letter included a
middle-school lesson plan stating that
“there are also people who don’t
identify as boys or girls, but rather as transgender or gender queer. This
means that even if they were called a boy or a girl at birth and may have body
parts that are typically associated with being a boy or a girl, on the inside,
they feel differently.”
Another example was from a high school lesson:
“Remind students that some men are born with female anatomy, some women are
born with male anatomy.”
Over 50 states, territories, tribes, and groups
receive approximately $75 million a year from the Trump administration to teach
Prep to students. For a “medical accuracy review,” it has required
all Prep money recipients to submit their curricula, including teacher manuals,
PowerPoint presentations, and parental consent forms.
There may also be uncertainty over the future of
other nationally supported sex education initiatives. Additionally, the Trump
administration has notified recipients of money for the $101 million Teen
Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP) that gender identity and diversity, equity,
and inclusion cannot be covered in their curricula.
The federal government’s growing use of sex
education funding as a weapon to stifle initiatives to teach youth about LGBTQ+
problems and rights is a concern for advocates and experts.
How does the Trump administration justify
cutting California’s sex education funding?
The Department of Health and Human Services’
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) reviewed California’s sex
education curriculum and found extensive references to gender identity,
transgender, and nonbinary concepts that the administration deemed unacceptable
and not aligned with the grant’s core purpose.
The administration asserts that federal taxpayer
dollars should not be used to “indoctrinate children” with these
gender ideology concepts.
Acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison
stated that the administration is holding California accountable for using
federal funds for teachings that encourage children to contemplate gender
transition options, including hormone therapy and surgery.
