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.