Trump Tells Most States to Cut Transgender Education Content (2)

The Trump administration is ordering states across the US to eliminate what it calls “gender ideology content” from sex education materials within the next two months, threatening to strip more than $81 million in federal funding should they refuse to comply.

The US Department of Health and Human Services order, announced Tuesday, pertains to 40 states and six territories, including Washington DC. It applies to materials funded via federal Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) grants. On the line is more than $81 million in remaining grants the administration says it can withhold, terminate, or suspend if jurisdictions don’t comply with orders.

Last week, the HHS announced it was stripping California’s PREP funding after the state refused to remove what the government considered problematic “radical gender ideology” content.

In a June letter to a California official, the HHS took issue with a middle school lesson the agency alleges said that even if people who identify as gender queer or transgender “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.” That same letter points to high school educational material that says to “remind students that some men are born with female anatomy, some women are born with male anatomy.”

Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, and New Mexico are among the states impacted by the announcement. New York is on the hook to lose over $6 million, while Pennsylvania has around $4.6 million at risk. An HHS announcement included a link to the letters to the states, which include similar examples to those in California’s letter.

“Federal funds will not be used to poison the minds of the next generation or advance dangerous ideological agendas,” Andrew Gradison acting assistant secretary of the HHS’ Administration for Children and Families, said in a statement. “The Trump Administration will ensure that PREP reflects the intent of Congress, not the priorities of the left.”

Under President Donald Trump, the HHS has taken steps to crack down on gender affirming care, especially as it applies to minors. The American Academy of Pediatrics and others have pushed back on the HHS, though the government’s efforts show no signs of slowing.