California loses $12M in sex ed funding after Trump ban on gender identity lessons

Sacramento, California – The Trump administration has cut off millions in federal funding for California’s sex education programs after the state refused to remove all references to transgender and nonbinary people from its curriculum.

At the heart of the dispute is the Personal Responsibility Education Program, or PREP, a federal grant program that provides states with money to help prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. California has long used PREP funding—worth about $6 million annually—to support lessons it says are medically accurate and inclusive. But this week, the state confirmed it would not comply with new federal demands to strip out references to gender identity. The result: Washington has pulled the plug on the money, a move that could eventually cost California around $12 million.

The Administration for Children and Families, which oversees PREP, told California in June that lessons mentioning transgender or nonbinary people fell outside the program’s scope. Examples included a middle school lesson plan explaining that some people “don’t identify as boys or girls” and a high school lesson reminding students that gender identity doesn’t always align with anatomy.

Andrew Gradison, the acting assistant secretary at ACF, called California’s refusal to comply “unacceptable” and accused the state of promoting “egregious gender ideology” with federal dollars. “Accountability is coming,” he said.

California officials pushed back, insisting that the Trump administration’s demands had no basis in law and that their curriculum already met the government’s original standards. In a letter Tuesday, state health leaders argued that inclusive lessons aren’t ideology—they’re a matter of preparing young people for reality.

Sex education policy is often decided locally, but the federal government still plays an outsized role by choosing where to send funding. The PREP program alone distributes about $75 million each year to more than 50 states, territories, and tribal organizations. The Trump administration has also told recipients of another program—the $101 million Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program—that they too must remove any references to gender identity or diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Historians and advocates say what’s happening in California could be a preview of a wider campaign. Lisa MF Andersen, who co-authored Touchy Subject: The History and Philosophy of Sex Education, said she couldn’t recall any precedent for the administration’s move. “It’s a really weirdly political method to use—to try to use funding instead of trying to use legislation,” Andersen said.

Critics argue the goal isn’t just to erase gender identity from classrooms, but to choke off comprehensive sex ed altogether. The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 playbook explicitly calls for funneling money away from PREP and toward abstinence-only programs, despite decades of research showing those programs don’t work.