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4w ago

HHS Gives 40 States, D.C. and Territories 60 Days to Remove Gender-Identity Content From PREP or Forfeit Funds

The agency argues that gender-identity references are outside the grant’s authorizing statute.

Materials for teens and parents on pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections provided by Teen Health Mississippi are displayed Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, in Jackson, Miss. Many states are shifting their approach to sex education in K-12 schools with stricter regulations on when and what students learn about their bodies. It's a move that has further complicated and polarized sex education. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
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Robert F Kennedy Jr, health secretary. (Getty)
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Overview

  • Letters sent Tuesday put jurisdictions "on notice" to strip what HHS calls gender-ideology content from Personal Responsibility Education Program materials, citing examples such as pronoun prompts, definitions of transgender identity and "respect diversity" sections.
  • ACF says more than $81 million in grants are at risk, with New York facing over $6 million, Pennsylvania about $4.6 million and Georgia about $4.5 million if they do not comply.
  • California’s PREP grant—about $12.3 million—was terminated last week after the state declined to change its curriculum, and officials there defended the materials as medically accurate and compliant with federal law.
  • States and territories have 60 days to submit revised curricula, with some responses emerging: Georgia said it will direct contractors to update materials, New York is reviewing the letter and Alabama said no classes using the flagged curricula are currently planned.
  • PREP, created in 2010 to reduce teen pregnancy and STIs among vulnerable youth, had previously approved many curricula; advocacy groups and medical organizations cited in coverage say excluding gender-identity information could harm students.