South Carolina faces loss of $1.6M PREP sex ed funding over gender lessons

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina could lose $1.6 million in federal funding for sexual education programs if it does not remove lessons the federal government says go beyond what the law allows.

The Administration for Children and Families, under the federal Department of Health and Human Services, sent a letter to South Carolina health officials ordering them to take out what it called “gender ideology material” from the state’s curriculum under the Personal Responsibility Education Program, or PREP.

The program provides federal grants to states to teach abstinence, contraception and life skills. But federal officials said South Carolina has included lessons on gender identity and sexual diversity, which are not covered by the program’s guidelines.

The letter cited several examples of t