Republican Representative Burgess Owens from Utah proposed a bill on Thursday aimed at formalizing President Donald Trump’s executive orders that safeguard children from radical gender ideology.
The “Say No to Indoctrination Act” intends to modify the Elementary and Secondary Education Act by banning federal funds from supporting schools that promote or teach “radical ‘gender ideology,’” as stated in the text of the bill obtained initially by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Additionally, the legislation would confirm the existence of only two sexes, asserting that “Gender identity” lacks factual basis.
“While the performance in math and reading remains stagnant and parents are left uninformed, school districts are utilizing taxpayer funds to promote radical gender ideology in K-12 education,” Owens, who also serves as the vice chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, remarked to the DCNF. “We’ve had our fill. The Say No to Indoctrination Act reinstates reason in classrooms, empowers parents, and solidifies President Trump’s initiative to restore common sense in K-12 education.”
Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) participates in a hearing titled “Calling for Accountability: Stopping Antisemitic College Chaos” before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Capitol Hill on May 23, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images)
Trump’s initial executive order, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” claimed federal acknowledgment of only “two sexes, male and female,” while recognizing the biological distinctions between genders. Another order issued shortly after barred the allocation of federal funds for sex change operations for minors.
States such as California and Maine currently have regulations that permit, or even mandate, school authorities to keep information secret from parents if a child wishes to alter their name or pronouns, or utilize facilities designated for the opposite sex. The Trump administration has been actively challenging these regulations, launching investigations and threatening financial penalties to the states involved. (RELATED: Red State Passes Law Prohibiting Schools From Secretly Allowing Sex Changes For Children)
On the other hand, Michigan has already committed to oppose the Trump administration and continue implementing gender ideology in early childhood education.
“LGBTQ+ students do not vanish just because LGBTQ+ content is removed from websites,” stated Michael Rice, superintendent of the Michigan board of education, in a correspondence to local school superintendents responding to Trump’s directive on gender ideology in educational institutions. “Despite attempts to alter language and erase information from federal websites, LGBTQ+ students remain an essential part of Michigan schools and communities and deserve our support.”
Several educational institutions have also been called out for exposing children to extreme content, with the federal government under the Biden administration funding various of these initiatives. The Department of Education from 2021 to 2024 allocated over $100 million in grants to institutions aimed at training K-12 social workers in critical race theory, social justice, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), with the Trump administration striving to eliminate such initiatives.
While educational establishments were intensifying their focus on these controversial topics, proficiency levels in reading and math saw significant declines. Fourth and eighth-grade students are experiencing some of the lowest passing rates in proficiency tests recorded in the U.S., even in comparison to the pandemic years.
“Parents don’t send their children to school for indoctrination—they seek education in reading, writing, and mathematics,” Owens emphasized in the press statement. “However, an alarming number of schools are misusing taxpayer funds to forward political objectives instead of concentrating on educational results. The Say No to Indoctrination Act codifies President Trump’s sensible executive order and halts this practice, ensuring that federal educational funds are allocated properly—directly into the classroom, not the activism.”
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