RFK Jr. exposes blue state’s goal to teach 10-YEAR-OLDS how to use SEX TOYS
In this DML Report…
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has issued a stern warning to California’s health agency for using federal funds to teach children as young as 10 about sex toys and role-playing in schools. HHS criticized the state for presenting materials deemed neither “age-appropriate” nor “medically accurate” through the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), which California tapped for $5.8 million in 2022—making it the program’s top recipient. HHS has demanded that California submit all sex education materials for federal review before further use, threatening to withhold funding if requirements aren’t met by April 1.
California’s PREP-funded curriculum, specifically the “Power Through Choices” model, instructs teachers to cover “sexual aids (commonly called ‘sex toys’ by youth)” and role-plays reflecting “the spectrum of sexual decision-making circumstances” for kids aged 10 to 19. The materials, exposed by HHS, also push gender-inclusive language like “they/them/theirs” pronouns and include same-gender couple scenarios, aiming to reflect diversity in care systems. While the California Department of Education didn’t respond to inquiries, the state’s health department must now justify these lessons, which HHS argues violate federal standards meant to focus on adolescent sexual health and pregnancy prevention, not explicit sexual practices.
(see more below)
Sex education varies widely across the U.S., with 39 states mandating some form of it, but California’s approach stands out for its comprehensive scope, funded heavily by taxpayers through PREP, overseen by HHS’s Administration for Children and Families. The CDC recommends 20 sex ed topics—like anatomy, puberty, and contraception—but a 2018 survey showed fewer than half of high schools and less than a fifth of middle schools cover them all, highlighting a gap California’s program exceeds in controversial ways. HHS’s move signals a crackdown on what it sees as misuse of federal dollars, putting California’s health agency on notice, with a firm deadline looming to align with stricter oversight.