Republican Utah Rep. Burgess Owens introduced legislation Thursday to codify President Donald Trump’s executive orders protecting children from radical gender ideology.
The “Say No to Indoctrination Act” would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to prohibit federal funds from going towards schools teaching or advancing “radical ‘gender ideology,’” according to the bill’s text first obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The bill would also affirm that there are only two sexes and that “Gender identity” has no basis in reality.
“While math and reading scores flatline and parents are kept in the dark, school districts are using taxpayer dollars to push radical gender ideology in K-12 classrooms,” Owens, who is also vice chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, told the DCNF. “We’ve had enough. The Say No to Indoctrination Act restores sanity in the classroom, puts parents back in the driver’s seat, and codifies President Trump’s agenda to bring common sense back to K-12 education.”
Trump’s day-one executive order, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” asserted the federal recognition of only “two sexes, male and female,” while acknowledging the biological differences between men and women. Another order just days later banned the use of federal dollars from funding sex changes for children.
States like California and Maine currently have policies that allow, or even require, school officials to keep secrets from parents if their child desires to change their name or pronouns or use opposite-sex facilities. The Trump administration has been cracking down on these policies, opening investigations and threatening federal funding to the states.
Meanwhile, Michigan has already vowed to take a stand against the Trump administration and continue teaching gender ideology to young children.
“LGBTQ+ students do not disappear just because websites are scrubbed of LGBTQ+ content,” Michael Rice, superintendent of the Michigan board of education, said in a letter to local school superintendents in response to Trump’s order on gender ideology in schools. “Despite attempts to redefine language and delete pages from federal websites, LGBTQ+ students remain a valued part of Michigan schools and communities and deserve to be supported.”
Several schools have also been exposed for teaching radical content to children, with the federal government under the Biden administration payrolling several of these programs. The Department of Education between 2021 and 2024 spent over $100 million on grants to universities meant to train K-12 social workers in critical race theory, social justice and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The Trump administration has since been working to cut such programs.
While schools were doubling down on teaching these divisive concepts, reading and math proficiently fell through the floor. Fourth and eighth grade students are passing proficiency tests at some of the lowest rates ever seen in the U.S., even compared to the Covid years.
“Parents aren’t sending their kids to school to be indoctrinated—they want them to learn to read, write, and do math,” Owens said in the press release. “But too many schools are using taxpayer dollars to push political agendas instead of focusing on outcomes. The Say No to Indoctrination Act codifies President Trump’s commonsense executive order and puts a stop to this, ensuring that federal education funds go where they belong—into the classroom, not activism.”
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