Judge to Block US Admin Bid to Erase Gender Identity from Sex Education

A federal judge in Oregon said on Monday she will block the Trump administration’s attempt to force Democratic-led states to remove all references to “gender ideology” from sex education curricula in order to qualify for federal grant funding.

 

US District Judge Ann Aiken said she intends to issue an injunction sought by 16 states and the District of Columbia, after a lawyer for Washington state argued that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was effectively requiring them to “edit transgender kids out of their curricula.”

 

Lawyers representing the states contended that the administration’s directive violates congressional intent and oversteps constitutional limits by usurping lawmakers’ control over federal spending. The states risked losing about $35 million in grant funding if they refused to comply.

 

The administration defended its stance as consistent with congressional goals promoting abstinence and sexual risk avoidance. “We’re not excluding anybody from these programmes,” Assistant US Attorney Susanne Luse said during a telephonic hearing. “We’re simply saying you cannot teach that boys can be girls and girls can be boys.”

 

Judge Aiken, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, said the administration’s policy appeared inconsistent with the relevant statutes and resembled “a separate-but-equal approach to sex education.” She said she would issue a written injunction soon.

 

President Trump, on his first day back in office on January 20, signed an executive order recognising only two sexes -- male and female -- and directed all federal agencies to ensure that no grant funding supports what he called “gender ideology.”

 

The lawsuit followed an August 26 directive from HHS to 46 states and territories ordering them to remove all references to “gender ideology” from sex education materials funded under the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP). The programme focuses on abstinence and contraception education for young people, particularly those who are homeless, in foster care, or living in areas with high teen birth rates.

 

Earlier in August, HHS had also warned recipients of PREP and Title V Sexual Risk Avoidance Education grants that they could not teach students “that gender identity is distinct from biological sex or that boys can identify as girls and vice versa.” The department later terminated California’s PREP grant after the state refused to amend its educational materials in line with the directive.

 

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