A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general is fighting to continue taxpayer subsidies for public schools to teach gender ideology in sex education classes. The coalition is led by Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and includes 16 states and the District of Columbia. The complaint was filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court in Oregon.
In August, the Administration for Children and Families, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, warned 40 states and six territories to remove references to gender ideology from the educational materials of the federally funded Personal Responsibility Education Program, also known as PREP, which instructs teens to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The agency gave the states 60 days to remove references or risk losing federal funding.
“The federal government’s far-reaching efforts to erase people who don’t fit one of two gender labels [are] illegal and wrong — and would deny services to millions more in the process,” Brown said in a public statement. “These young people are treated equally under Washington state and federal laws, and we intend to make sure of it.”
In August, the Administration for Children and Families terminated the PREP grant to California when the state did not remove the gender ideology from the education material.
“Accountability is coming,” HHS Acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison said in public statement after the warning letter to the states and territories. “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.”
Joining Washington, Oregon, and Minnesota in the coalition suing the Trump administration are Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.
The complaint alleges the administration’s gender policy would mean a loss of $35 million in federal funding for the 16 plaintiff states and Washington, D.C. if they keep teaching gender ideology. The plaintiff states also contend that the administration’s move violates the federal Administrative Procedure Act and violates the intent of Congress in creating the grant program.
