President Donald Trump said he would strip funding for any California school district that goes against his administration’s transgender policies.
“Any California school district that doesn’t adhere to our Transgender policies, will not be funded. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” the president said.
Trump has previously voiced frustration over California schools allowing transgender student athletes to compete in sports not in line with their sex. Though the administration’s attention has been diverted elsewhere the past few months, Trump issued a similar threat in June after transgender student AB Hernandez won first and second-place medals at the California track and field championship.
“A Biological Male competed in California Girls State Finals, WINNING BIG, despite the fact that they were warned by me not to do so. As Governor Gavin Newscum fully understands, large scale fines will be imposed!!!” he declared in a June 3 post on Truth Social.
Trump’s Department of Justice has directed its ire at California Interscholastic Federation Bylaw 300.D, which mandates, “All students should have the opportunity to participate in CIF activities in a
manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s
records.”
In a June 2 letter, Deputy Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the law was “facially unconstitutional” as it ran afoul of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.
Withholding the billions of dollars in federal funding that California receives each year is easier said than done from the executive branch alone, likely requiring the assistance of Congress or the Supreme Court.
In tandem with Trump’s threats, the Department of Health and Human Services revoked a sex education grant for California after its schools refused to remove “radical gender ideology” from their curriculum, according to Fox News.
“California’s refusal to comply with federal law and remove egregious gender ideology from federally funded sex-ed materials is unacceptable,” Andrew Gradison, acting assistant secretary at the Administration for Children and Families, said in a statement to the outlet. “The Trump Administration will not allow taxpayer dollars to be used to indoctrinate children. Accountability is coming for every state that uses federal funds to teach children delusional gender ideology.”
California isn’t the only state where schools have drawn the attention of the White House over transgender policies, with Virginia particularly drawing the Department of Education’s ire.
On Tuesday, the Education Department announced new measures to place the Northern Virginia school districts of Loudoun, Fairfax, Prince William, Arlington, and Alexandria under “high-risk” and reimbursement payment status after they defied demands to change their bathroom and locker room policies.
The new measures make it far more difficult to secure federal funding. The districts collectively receive over $50 million in funds from the federal government.
TRUMP EDUCATION SECRETARY WARNS VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICTS OVER TRANSGENDER POLICIES
“States and school districts cannot openly violate federal law while simultaneously receiving federal funding with no additional scrutiny. The Northern Viriginia School Divisions that are choosing to abide by woke gender ideology in place of federal law must now prove they are using every single federal dollar for a legal purpose,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.
The president has signed multiple executive orders relating to transgender policies and education, a major promise during his 2024 campaign.
