Stop The Dismantling of the Department of Education
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31st, 2025
Contact: Michelle Slaybaugh
Future of Sex Education Condemns Attacks on Inclusive Education and Warns of Catastrophic DOE Elimination
WASHINGTON, DC, March 31, 2025—The Future of Sex Education (FoSE)—a collaboration of Advocates for Youth, Answer, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change—vehemently opposes the Trump administration’s escalating assault on public education. The January 29th executive order, “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schools,” and the administration’s plan to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), as outlined in the March 20th Executive Order, through layoffs and discontinued funding will have catastrophic effects on the safety, rights, and education of millions of students, particularly LGBTQ+ youth and students of color.
The Trump administration’s mass layoffs at the Department of Education, coupled with withheld funds and threats to deny funding based on political alignment, have effectively dismantled the agency without formal congressional approval. This de facto shutdown strips federal protections from 50 million students and essentially eliminates the Office for Civil Rights, which handles over 18,000 annual discrimination complaints, including LGBTQ+ Title IX protections. Additionally, the loss of Title IV-A grants will defund inclusive sex education, anti-bullying programs, and trauma-informed health curricula, forcing reliance on abstinence-only approaches that deprive students of accurate information. Without its ability to enforce policies, distribute funds, and support schools, the DOE is rendered nonfunctional, leaving no federal oversight of education.
Lack of federal oversight leaves too much room for harmful laws to be implemented at the state level. This has already led to major discrepancies among educational opportunities and has negatively impacted children living in poverty, youth of color, and LGBTQ+ youth. Furthermore, polling shows that the administration’s so-called “parental rights” agenda is out of step with the majority of American families. 68.7 percent of parents support inclusive sex education that integrates information about sexual orientation and gender identity. Despite this, the administration is pushing policies that erase LGBTQ+ identities from curricula, criminalize gender-affirming counseling, and empower states to control school curricula without accountability. These moves will disproportionately harm LGBTQ+ students, particularly those of color, who already face high dropout rates in non-affirming districts.
In addition, the launch of the EndDEI.ed.gov website is yet another dangerous attempt to police LGBTQ+ youth and other marginalized communities under the guise of “parental rights.” Spearheaded by the extremist hate group Moms for Liberty, this portal is nothing more than a weapon for right-wing activists to intimidate educators and dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in public schools. By framing DEI initiatives as “rogue” or “divisive,” this initiative seeks to erase the histories, identities, and lived experiences of marginalized students. The fact that the Department of Education under Trump is elevating Moms for Liberty’s fear-mongering tactics is a chilling sign of the broader war on inclusive education. This is not about protecting students—it’s about enabling bigotry, stifling honest education, and pushing an agenda that seeks to erase the progress our communities have fought for.
The stakes have never been higher. The Future of Sex Education Initiative calls on lawmakers, educators, parents, and advocates to reject these dangerous attacks. We stand united to protect an inclusive, comprehensive education system where every student—regardless of identity—can thrive.
In solidarity,
SIECUS Policy Team
The Future of Sex Education—a collaboration of Advocates for Youth, Answer, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change—aims to champion sex education and create conditions that prioritize and protect the wellbeing of all young people. FoSE aspires to build a national foundation that empowers policymakers, school administrators, and educators to implement and sustain sex education and cultivate supportive learning environments.
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