The current presidential administration has threatened 46 states to remove all references to “gender ideology” (that is, transgender people) from their federally funded sexual education programs or else risk losing millions in federal funding.

This morning, the Department of Health and Human Services’s (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) said it had put the states “on notice” to remove all references to trans people and gender identity from sex ed classes funded by the federal government’s Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), a teen pregnancy prevention and sexual health program created by the Affordable Care Act, The Hill reported.

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HHS cancels $12 million sex-ed grant after California refuses to eliminate gender identity lessons

The department said in a Tuesday press release that its action reflects the administration’s “ongoing commitment to protecting children from attempts to indoctrinate them with delusional ideology.”

“Federal funds will not be used to poison the minds of the next generation or advance dangerous ideological agendas,” acting ACF Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison said in the release. He added that the administration “will ensure that PREP reflects the intent of Congress, not the priorities of the left.”

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HHS already revoked $12 million in PREP funds from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), stating that its “funded [PREP] programs and services include gender ideology, which is outside the scope of the statute.” California officials refused to remove the course material on gender identity after an initial request from HHS, which led to the cancellation of its grant.

Responding to the threat, CDPH said its PREP curriculum is “medically accurate, comprehensive, and age-appropriate” and was previously approved by the ACF and found to be compliant with federal statute, The Hill added.

PREP supports states in teaching students about both contraception and abstinence. The program has a special focus on places with high rates of teen birth as well as on working with kids who are homeless or in foster care, Reuters reported.

HHS claims that “gender ideology” is “irrelevant to teaching abstinence and contraception and unrelated to any of the adult preparation subjects” that the PREP grant covers. Yet, gender identity plays a role in many of the subjects involved in PREP’s subject fields, including “adolescent development,” “parent-child communication,” “healthy relationships,” and other topics.

The current presidential administration has sought to eradicate trans people entirely from public and civic life by threatening to end all government acknowledgment of trans people’s gender identities. This crusade includes the denial of federal funding and the initiation of retaliatory persecution against any institutions with trans-inclusive policies.

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