The Maine Department of Health and Human Services is “reviewing” a letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) ordering them to remove “gender ideology” from sex education classes.
“ACF instructs Maine to remove all content concerning gender ideology from its curricula, program materials and any other aspects of its program delivery within 60 days of receipt of this letter and provide a copy of the modified materials to ACF for approval,” said ACF director Andrew Gradison in a letter last Tuesday.
“The Department is still reviewing and assessing the letter, its directives and potential impacts,” said DHHS spokeswoman Lindsay Hammes in an email to Spectrum News.
The ACF sent letters to 40 states and six territories, identifying segments of their Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) classes, typically known as sex education, that promote “gender ideology.”
The department warned that if states do not comply by removing the offending curriculum within 60 days, they will lose their PREP grants. The department has already rescinded the PREP grant to California after the state refused to remove gender ideology from its sex-ed classes.
According to the ACF, Maine stands to lose $584,111 if the state fails to comply by October 27.
The ACF identified specific terms and curriculum in Maine’s sex ed programs that must be removed in order for the state to maintain its funding.
It found specific references to transgenderism in the Making Proud Choices! 5th Edition, California Edition, Teacher Manual, used in the state.
“Do you feel like something different than a guy or a girl? Often gender identity matches a person’s body— someone with a girl’s body feels like a girl on the inside or someone with a boy’s body feels like a boy on the inside—but not always. Transgender is when a person’s inner feelings about gender identity don’t match the body,” says the book.
The book also includes the terms “cisgender,” “gender expression,” and “gender identity.”
Maine must also cease the use of Sexuality for All Abilities, 2nd Edition, Instructor Manual, which includes a section on “key messages” asserting that “Sometimes a person’s gender identity doesn’t match the gender that caregivers assign to them.”
The book also uses terms such as “gender fluidity,” “gender non-conforming,” and “genderqueer.”
Maine has not indicated whether it intends to comply, but Gov. Janet Mills has consistently refused to follow President Donald Trump’s efforts to bar males from girls’ sports, leading to a high-profile showdown earlier this year.
