The Trump administration has demanded that 46 states and territories remove any mention of gender ideology in their federally funded sex ed curriculum or risk losing PREP funding, the department of Health and Human Services announced on Tuesday.
The HHS, through its Administration for Children and Families, sent a letter to the department of education representatives in 46 states and territories ordering that Personal Responsibility Education Program educational materials make the change within 60 days. States that do not comply will be met with withholding, suspension, or the termination of federal PREP funding.
Acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison released a statement saying: "Accountability is coming. 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." Only 10 states did not receive a letter.
The PREP is a federally funded effort to reduce teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Last week, HHS terminated California's participation in the program after the state refused to remove information about transgender people from its curriculum.
The agency noted examples of where taxpayer money in the Golden State was used to "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."
Speaking exclusively to Newsmax last week, Gradison said California's violation of the federal mandate was expected. "California selected materials that are outside of the bounds of this program — that have nothing to do with teaching the importance of abstinence or contraception. And instead, they were teaching children how they may be in the wrong body or how they ought to be taking gender hormones," he added.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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