OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
5:22 PM – Thursday, August 21, 2025
The Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has blocked California from receiving federal sex education grants, citing the Golden State’s refusal to remove references to gender identity from its curriculum.
On Thursday, the HHS terminated California’s Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) grant.
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), under HHS, had already previously instructed California to remove all content concerning gender ideology from its PREP materials within 60 days — maintaining that such content is outside the program’s scope.
Soon after, California officials defended its curriculum, claiming that it is medically accurate, comprehensive, age-appropriate, and inclusive of gender identity to support students’ dignity.
The state has the option to appeal the decision within 30 days.
Governor Gavin Newsom’s (D-Calif.) office also expressed shock after being notified of the funding cut through media reports. A spokesperson for the governor told the press that the HHS letter was still under review and further defended the program — highlighting its “evidence-based approach and effectiveness.”
In March, the department’s Administration for Children and Families (ACF) requested that California submit all teen pregnancy prevention and sexual health teaching materials for its Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), “for a medical accuracy review.”
Acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison instructed California’s Department of Public Health (CDPH) at the time to remove “all content concerning gender ideology” from the PREP lesson plans within 30 days.
However, on Thursday, the HHS announced that it had still identified content in the state’s curriculum that included “multiple examples of gender ideology content, including lessons teaching students that gender identity is distinct from biological sex and that boys can identify as girls and vice versa,” according to Gradison, explained in a termination letter to CDPH officials.
The termination letter further stated that California’s health department had responded on Tuesday by asserting that it would “not make any such modifications” to its learning materials, which the department argued are medically accurate and relevant.
Gradison appeared to correct the department, explaining that gender ideology “is not supported by the weight of science,” and adding that the “termination of all California State PREP grants are now appropriate.
The CDPH now has 30 days to submit an appeal. However, Gradison made it clear in a statement that the current administration “will not allow taxpayer dollars to be used to indoctrinate children.”
“Accountability is coming for every state that uses federal funds to teach children delusional gender ideology,” he continued.
President Trump also doubled down on his administration’s revocation of funding for stubborn California schools.
“Any California school district that doesn’t adhere to our transgender policies, will not be funded,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Thursday.
Conservatives often cite the following examples when highlighting how gender ideology is not substantiated by scientific consensus:
- Biological sex (XX vs XY chromosomes, reproductive anatomy) is fixed and determines gender.
- Gender dysphoria is a mental disorder that should be treated with therapy to align identity with biological sex, rather than affirming one’s perceived gender identity in their head.
- Teaching minors about gender diversity or nonbinary identities is in fact “social engineering.”
- There is insufficient longitudinal data on the effects of early social or medical transition, so it cannot be “science-backed.”
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