Quinn Kenney lives in Union.

A letter from the Department of Health and Human Services to 46 states and territories told them to “remove all references to gender ideology” if they want to keep the federal funding they receive for PREP (Personal Responsibility Education Program), a youth sex ed program.

Using education as a bargaining chip to further eliminate mention of trans identities is manipulative and dangerous. Appropriate sexual education is essential not just for the kids receiving it, but for society as a whole.

Sex ed has been instrumental in teaching kids what healthy relationships look like and how to have sex safely, when or if that time comes. Anyone living in a society without proper knowledge of consent, communication and contraception puts everyone at risk.

Some things aren’t instinctual, and require teaching. Sexual education is one of them. That’s why programs like PREP are so important. They prepare kids to enter the real world with the most important tool one can possess: knowledge.

When creating the Department of Education, Congress specified that the department does not develop curriculum. The loophole used in this instance is that the PREP program is administered by the health and human services department rather than the education department, thus the weaponization of funding for educational materials here is legal.

The Trump administration has free rein, in this case, to oversee the curriculum with the goal of influencing education with the narrative it has decided to promote.

An immediate issue that arises with having a vague ban on gender ideology is the slippery slope it rests on. The letters to the state of Alaska and the territory of Puerto Rico include pansexuality/bisexuality under that umbrella and find fault with a handful of others (Maryland, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) for defining sexual orientation, despite sexual orientation and gender identity being separate concepts.

Not only does that approach limit the information the participants receive, it also makes it harder for educators to provide a comprehensive picture of sexual health and wellness.

Sex ed is an educational experience. Children are not being told that they have to be queer, they are being told that some people are. Educators should not have to tiptoe around providing relevant information in fear of losing funding.

Banning mentions of legitimate identities punishes those who possess them, and the educational system should not be wielded to further push aside those on the margins. Rather, uplift the whole by embracing all.

People don’t decide they’re queer, they discover it, and if a straight, cisgender male enters an inclusive sex ed class he’ll leave a straight, cisgender male. The difference with an inclusive version is that as well as leaving with a well-rounded sexual education, he’ll have
gained insight into identities besides his own.

It’s not indoctrination, it’s education, and it can make all the difference for kids when school is willing to help them enter the real world with confidence and a sense of self they can thrive with.

Inclusive sex ed can save lives. Threatening all sex ed in order to deny essential information to vulnerable kids is what’s immoral, not teaching kids about the wide range of human experiences.

Putting all children’s development at risk unless you agree to harm some children is not a choice anyone should have to make, nor is it a funding-contingent decision the federal government should force states into.

Treat everyone fairly, teach everyone practically. That’s how we make ourselves and our communities great.