Overview

• Effective Aug. 21, 2025, the Administration for Children and Families terminated all California PREP awards and suspended funding, according to a formal letter.
• California has 30 days to file an appeal with HHS’s Departmental Appeals Board or the termination becomes the department’s final decision.
• Federal reviewers said lessons went beyond the program’s statute, citing middle-school materials introducing transgender identities, high-school content on being nonbinary, and teacher guidance on avoiding misgendering and using terms such as cisgender.
• The California Department of Public Health declined to make changes, asserting the materials were previously approved, medically accurate, relevant to PREP’s purposes, and that ACF lacks authority to enforce the demanded revisions.
• Up to $12.3 million in multi-year funding is at risk; the grant supports programs serving an estimated 13,000 youths annually through 20 agencies in settings such as schools, juvenile justice facilities, homeless shelters, and foster care group homes.