HHS demands California abandon gender ideology in sex ed program
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has mandated that california remove all references to “gender ideology” from sex education materials funded by federal programs within 60 days. This directive affects the state’s Personal Responsibility Education Program (CA PREP), aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy. HHS argues that the inclusion of gender identity discussions in the program’s curricula is inappropriate and outside its intended purpose, which focuses on abstinence, contraception, and sexually transmitted infection prevention.
HHS has warned that failure to comply could result in withheld federal funding. California officials responded by stating that the program, which receives around $6 million federally, provides extensive and evidence-based sexual health education. They emphasized that the curricula used by local agencies are medically accurate and age-appropriate.The controversy arose during a review of the program’s materials, which HHS claimed contained problematic references related to gender ideology.
The acting Assistant Secretary of HHS, Andrew Gradison, criticized the use of federal funds for what he deemed indoctrination in schools.In contrast, california’s Governor gavin Newsom’s office clarified that the letter from HHS was first learned about via media reports and emphasized the program’s medical accuracy and compliance. The issue reflects the ongoing national debate over educational content regarding gender identity and sexual education.
HHS demands California eliminate ‘all gender ideology references’ in sex education program
The Department of Health and Human Services on Friday gave California 60 days to eliminate “all gender ideology references” in federally funded sex education curricula and materials geared toward children.
HHS’s Administration for Children and Families sent a letter to California’s State Personal Responsibility Education Program, a teenage pregnancy prevention program funded by the state’s Department of Public Health, requesting the removal of any mention of gender identity.
If California fails to comply by Aug. 19, HHS is threatening to “withhold, disallow, suspend, or terminate” the state’s federal funding.
“The Trump Administration will not tolerate the use of federal funds for programs that indoctrinate our children,” acting ACF Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison said in a statement. “The disturbing gender ideology content in California’s PREP materials is both unacceptable and well outside the program’s core purpose. ACF remains committed to radical transparency and providing accountability so that parents know what their children are being taught in schools.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA)’s press office said its staff is “reviewing the letter, which we were first made aware of via Fox News, not HHS.”
“To be clear: this is NOT California’s K-12 sex education curriculum,” a Newsom spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “The California Personal Responsibility Education Program (CA PREP), which receives barely $6 million in federal funding, provides comprehensive sexual health education to adolescents via an effective, evidence-based program model.”
Newsom’s press office maintains that all PREP curricula that local agencies use are medically accurate, comprehensive, and age-appropriate.
In March, ACF officials asked California to provide the sex education program’s curricula and materials to conduct a medical accuracy review.
The state obliged the Trump administration’s request, but the HHS division identified several instances of what it called “problematic language” concerning gender ideology.
For instance, one PREP material for teachers defines gender identity as “a person’s deep-seated, internal sense of who they are as a gendered being” and says “all people have a gender identity.”
Another material directed toward teenagers in high schools advises to “remind students that some men are born with female anatomy, some women are born with male anatomy.”
ACF’s medical accuracy review was designed to “determine if California’s approach to biological sex in its PREP curricula is medically accurate and in compliance with the program statute and the terms and conditions of the award,” a footnote in the letter reads. The review concluded the materials were not in compliance with the authorizing statute.
The statute under which the PREP program exists specifies that the program was intended to teach adolescents about abstinence, contraception, and avoiding sexually transmitted infections. It was not designed to educate minors on gender identity, ACF says.
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“We are aware that this curricula and other program materials were previously approved by ACF,” the 60-day notice reads. “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.”
“California’s current PREP curricula and program materials are out of compliance with the PREP statute and HHS regulations and must be modified,” it reads.
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