Trump administration probes California's sex education curriculum

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The state of California faced greater oversight from the federal government on Tuesday over how it implements sexual education. The state must now comply with a federal request as part of a medical accuracy review.

‘Everything is under attack’

What they're saying:

"It seems that everything is under attack that might have anything to do with the LGBTQ+ community," said Gabrielle Antolovich, executive director of the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center in San Jose.

Sex ed curriculum review

Local perspective:

Concerns grew after an action from the Administration for Children and Families, which sent a March 27 letter to the California Department of Public Health requesting "curricula and programmatic materials for its federally funded Personal Responsibility Education Program," or PREP.

PREP is a $75 million-a-year program that teaches children about contraception and abstinence. Federal officials said their request is permitted under the terms of the PREP grant.

"All grant recipients of federally funded PREP money are expected to comply with all statutory requirements of PREP, including ensuring the programs are medically accurate and complete, and the program provides age-appropriate information and activities," Acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison said.

"There has become a movement that opposes sex education. It's an unwise movement. It's inconsistent with what has been the history in the United States," said Dr. Michele Goodwin, a Georgetown University law expert specializing in global health issues. "The narrative or what the thought process is behind constraining curriculum in this way is actually only hurting young Americans."

She said the action put the country on a dangerous trajectory.

Critics see it as suppressing freedom of expression

Dig deeper:

Critics of the Trump administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ request said such moves increase pressure on protected groups, similar to when the president signed an executive order in January clarifying that the United States now recognizes only two genders. They argued that such hardline stances marginalize people and cause more social harm than good.

"They are looking for practical ways to chip away at our freedom to be who we are," Antolovich said. "The people who are reviewing the curricula have no expertise in that area. So, they don't really know what they're doing. They just want to get rid of it."

The California Department of Public Health has not yet responded to KTVU's request for comment.

Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay bureau. Follow him on Instagram, @jessegontv and on Facebook, @JesseKTVU.