PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge in Oregon has blocked President Donald Trump's administration from pulling sexual education funding over curricula mentioning diverse gender identities.
U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken issued the preliminary injunction Monday as part of a lawsuit filed against the Health and Human Services Department by 16 states and the District of Columbia, which argued that withdrawing such funds violated the separation of powers and federal law.
The complaint claims the department was attempting to force the states to “rewrite sexual health curricula to erase entire categories of students,” describing this as an attack on transgender and gender-diverse youth. The administration has countered that the Health and Human Services Department has the authority to impose conditions on funding grants.
Judge Aiken stated the department “provides no evidence that it made factual findings or considered the statutory objectives and express requirements, the relevant data, the applicable anti-sex-discrimination statutes and its own regulations.” She concluded that the new grant conditions lacked reasonableness.
In April, the Health Department requested the plaintiff states to share their education materials for review, alleging that they were conducting a “medical accuracy review.” In August, new conditions prohibited the inclusion of “gender ideology” in any programs funded by the grants, warning states they had 60 days to comply or risk losing funding.
The plaintiffs have argued that these changes could result in a loss of at least $35 million to the states, negatively impacting their ability to educate high-risk youth about sexual health.
Officials welcomed the ruling, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison stated he was pleased to protect funding for important health education programs. The case emphasizes the ongoing legal disputes over education policy and rights for diverse gender identities during the Trump administration.
