Trump administration threatens 46 states to remove educational transgender resources
Letters issued educational institutions must remove "all references to gender ideology"
By Aaron Sugg
The Trump administration is warning states they could lose federal funding if they include transgender identities in sex education programmes.
The Department of Health and Human Services’s (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) sent letters to 46 states, territories and Washington DC on Tuesday (26 August).
The letters issued educational institutions must remove “all references to gender ideology” from the Personal Responsibility Education Programme (PREP) within 60 days.
“Attempts to indoctrinate them with delusional ideology” – the Department of Health and Human Services on transgender identity eduction
If they refuse, they risk losing funding from PREP – with more than $81 million (£60m) in grants at stake.
The HHS has said in a statement: “This action reflects the Trump Administration’s ongoing commitment to protecting children from attempts to indoctrinate them with delusional ideology.”
The ban includes modules, books and other educational materials promoting gender-ideology.
“Federal funds will not be used to poison” – acting assistant secretary Andrew Gradison on transgender materials
“Accountability is coming,” acting assistant secretary Andrew Gradison said.
“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.”
The move comes after California’s PREP grant was terminated for refusing to remove “gender ideology content.”
The administration’s stance follows other efforts to restrict transgender recognition, including an executive order declaring that the US recognises only two “unchangeable” sexes – a move echoed in the UK, where the Supreme Court ruled that gender is defined by biological sex.
In the US, additional policies have sought to ban gender-affirming care for minors, bar transgender girls from participating in sports, and prevent trans people from serving openly in the military.
This can also be seen as detrimental to transgender youth, adding to the pressures created by the Trump administration’s termination of an LGBTQ+ youth crisis hotline.
Internationally, several governments have introduced restrictions on transgender rights, often framed as protecting “traditional values”.