The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Administration for Children and Families (ACF), demanded on Tuesday that Alabama and 45 states and territories remove all references to gender ideology in their federally funded Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) educational materials within 60 days.
The action reflects the Trump administration's ongoing commitment to protecting children from attempts to indoctrinate them with delusional ideology, according to ACF.
Last week, ACF terminated California's PREP grant after the state failed to meet its demand to remove gender ideology from its educational materials. According to ACF, states and territories receiving these new letters are now on notice: failure to comply will result in similar enforcement actions, including the withholding, suspension, or termination of federal PREP funding.
According to ACF, Alabama could lose $2,078,740 in federal funds for non-compliance.
"Accountability is coming," said ACF acting assistant secretary Andrew Gradison. "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."
Gradison said in a letter to the Alabama Department of Public Health on Tuesday that references in the PREP curriculum regarding a "safe space for transgender or gender nonconforming youth," respecting diversity, and preferred pronouns as "irrelevant to teaching abstinence and contraception."
"We are aware that these curricula and other program materials were previously approved by ACF. 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. Alabama's current PREP curricula and program materials are out of compliance with the PREP statute and HHS regulations and must be modified," Gradison said in the letter. "Therefore, ACF instructs Alabama to remove all content concerning gender ideology from its curricula, program materials and any other aspects of its program delivery within 60 days of receipt of this letter and provide a copy of the modified materials to ACF for approval. The content flagged on the pages of this letter provides examples of gender ideology content that does not adhere to the PREP statute; 3 Alabama is directed to remove these and all similar language throughout their curricula and program materials. Should Alabama fail to make the appropriate modifications to its PREP curricula and program materials, ACF may take additional enforcement action."
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