HHS Threatens to Cut Funds for 46 States Over Gender Ideology in School Curricula – The Epoch Times

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has ordered 46 U.S. states and territories to remove all educational references to gender ideology from federally funded school grant programs within 60 days, according to an Aug. 26 statement.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), an HHS division, wrote letters to the states pointing out curricula and materials that fall outside the scope of the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) authorizing statute, and ordered them removed.

The federal government awards grants to state agencies through the PREP program to educate young people on sexual abstinence and contraception. It aims to help prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

Failure to comply with federal directives will result in withholding, suspending, or terminating federal PREP funding, the HHS statement said.

“Accountability is coming,” said acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison. “Federal funds will not be used to poison the minds of the next generation or advance dangerous ideological agendas. The Trump Administration will ensure that PREP reflects the intent of Congress, not the priorities of the left.”

Some of the states not included in the statement are California, Florida, Texas, and Virginia.

The ACF terminated California’s PREP grant this past week after the state refused to remove gender ideology from educational materials.

“California has been using taxpayer money to teach curricula that could encourage kids to contemplate mutilating their genitals, ‘altering their body … through hormone therapy,’ ‘adding or removing breast tissue,’ and ‘changing their name.’ It instructed teachers to ‘remind students that some men are born with female anatomy,’” the ACF statement said.

California had been given 60 days to remove the content from schools and had failed to comply. The state issued the warning letter on June 20.

In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, a California Department of Public Health spokesperson said, “California’s students deserve access to educational information and materials that help them make healthy decisions about sexual activity, including the decision to delay sexual activity, while honoring and respecting their dignity including gender identity.”

California’s PREP curriculum is “medically accurate, comprehensive, and age-appropriate,” and was previously approved by the ACF, the statement said.

The HHS statement detailed the amount of funding each state and territory stands to forfeit. Altogether, the remaining funds amount to more than $81 million. Some of the major grantees include New York with over $6 million remaining, Pennsylvania with over $4.6 million, Georgia with over $4.5 million, and Ohio with over $4.2 million.

The latest action stems from President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order “Defending Women from Gender Ideology and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”

The order calls on federal agencies to enforce laws governing rights based on the two sexes. It said that federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology. Agencies are required to assess grant conditions based on the order.

A coalition of LGBT advocacy groups is challenging the order in court. In June, a federal judge in California granted a partial injunction, temporarily blocking enforcement of provisions that would strip funding from organizations accused of promoting gender ideology.

The court found that the funding bans likely violate the First and Fifth Amendments and the constitutional separation of powers. The ruling stated that the government “cannot weaponize Congressionally appropriated funds to single out protected communities for disfavored treatment or suppress ideas that it does not like or has deemed dangerous.”

In a legal brief opposing the LGBT groups’ challenge to Trump’s order, government attorneys argued that the president is allowed to have policy priorities and is “further permitted to align government funding and enforcement strategies with those policy priorities.”

The HHS letters gave examples of educational material that includes gender ideology.

The letter to Alabama officials said the curriculum-included book “Making Proud Choices! 5th Edition,“ includes a facilitator’s note that says: ”Asking participants to tell you their pronouns is a way of creating a safe space for transgender or gender nonconforming youth. Model what you want participants to say by giving your own pronouns.”

The letter to Arizona officials cited the “Teen Outreach Program (TOP), Second Edition,” which says, “Sexuality is complex and can be difficult to define. It is normal for participants to struggle to understand it broadly and to have differing views.”

Based on the letters, many states have similar materials.

The letters mentioned that these curricula and other program materials had been provided earlier.

“However, the prior administration erred in allowing PREP grants to be used to teach students gender ideology because that approval exceeded the agency’s authority to administer the program consistent with the authorizing legislation as enacted by Congress,” the letters said.

Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.