A California sex education program has fewer than 60 days to remove gender ideology from its curricula and materials, or it risks losing federal funding.
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to California requiring the removal of “all gender ideology references” in its Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP).
PREP funds local agencies and provides sex education services in foster homes, homeless shelters, juvenile detention centers, and some schools. It reaches about 13,000 youth annually, primarily those at the highest risk of STI or teen pregnancy.
The letter from ACF cited various instances of content “outside of the scope of PREP’s authorizing statute.” Some examples included a middle school lesson that teaches about transgenderism and a teacher’s guide that says gender identity is distinct from biological sex.
The California Department of Public Health confirmed to NR that it received and is reviewing the letter. It defended the PREP curricula as “medically accurate, comprehensive, and age-appropriate.” Additionally, it said they were “federally pre-approved, in accordance with federal regulations.”
ACF said in its letter, “We are aware that this curricula and other program materials were previously approved by ACF. However, the [Biden] administration erred in allowing PREP grants to be used to teach students gender ideology.” PREP grants are approved to teach “personal responsibility education programs,” such as abstinence and contraception methods.
The California government has until August 19 to submit revised PREP curricula and materials with references to gender ideology removed. If it fails to do so, ACF will take enforcement action, including moving to suspend federal funding.
ACF Acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison said, “The Trump Administration will not tolerate the use of federal funds for programs that indoctrinate our children. The disturbing gender ideology content in California’s PREP materials is both unacceptable and well outside the program’s core purpose.”
A spokeswoman for ACF told NR, “ACF is reviewing all curricula and program materials for all PREP grant recipients to ensure the content is medically accurate, age-appropriate, and within scope of PREP’s authorizing legislation.” She also confirmed that pro-abortion content would be outside of PREP’s authorizing legislation.
“ACF remains committed to ensuring that all programs fulfill the intent of statutory requirements,” the statement said.
Do No Harm senior fellow January Littlejohn told NR, “If they are teaching children that they can be in the wrong body and they choose their gender, that is not medically accurate.” She criticized PREP for spreading “lies that are leading to irreversible medical harm.”
Littlejohn is a licensed mental health counselor whose daughter was secretly socially transitioned while attending middle school. She believes “gender identity is the biggest fraud to ever come out of my profession of psychology,” and said it is wrong to tell children they can be “born in the wrong body.”
PREP does not fund sex education programs in most California school districts, which are required to provide sexual health education and information on HIV prevention at least once in middle school and once in high school. The California Department of Education provides its own guidance on sex education curricula.
All states that received federal PREP grants were sent letters by ACF requesting their curricula and programming materials earlier this year.
The Trump administration is monitoring other taxpayer-supported organizations to ensure they do not push ideological agendas. For example, the U.S. Department of Education is investigating school districts that allow transgender participation in girls’ sports.