SC school districts risk losing $1.5 million in federal funds over curriculum mandate
CCSD opens International Welcome Center to support multilingual families & students (WCIV)
(WCIV) — South Carolina school districts are at risk of losing approximately $1.5 million in federal funding if they do not comply with a new curriculum mandate from the Trump administration. The administration is demanding that 46 states, including South Carolina, repeal their current curriculum on subjects such as gender identity, pronouns, and race theory.
James Agen, Director of South Carolina Equality, expressed concern over the administration’s stance.
I think it’s very interesting that the administration is really doubling down on this. It has a lot of potential to be very dangerous,” Agen said.
JULY 17, 2025 – A flag supporting the LGBTQIA+ community. (Photo credit: WLOS staff)
The administration has set a deadline of Oct. 27 for states to remove all references to gender ideology in their federally funded curriculum. Cristina Picozzi, Executive Director for the Harriet Hancock Center, warned of how these changes could impact youth.
“I think changing curriculum, especially curriculum that is targeting trans and non-binary youth, we’re going to see it make the environments unsafe,” Picozzi said.
Multiple LGBTQ+ groups across the state have spoken out against the new ruling, calling it dangerous. The Alliance for Full Acceptance released a statement criticizing the politicization of education by threatening to cut federal funding, calling it “dangerous and short-sighted.”
It’s something that I think is very ineffective and it’s honestly very dangerous too, and we’re already not in a good status for our sexual education,” Agen said. “We’re top 10 in HIV transmission rates as a state, we are top 10 in teen birth rates. How are we fixing it? Blaming gender ideology or sexual identity is not addressing the problem. It’s you’re blaming, it’s a scapegoat.
State leaders have also weighed in on the topic. Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette praised the administration’s efforts, stating, “I applaud President Trump for working to end radical indoctrination in our schools, Parents — not bureaucrats —should decide what our children learn. I can assure every parent in South Carolina that critical race theory, gender ideology, and other radical left nonsense will never be taught in our schools when I’m governor.”
MAY 21, 2025 – The head of the Fontana Regional Library system said the discussion about the Jackson County Public Library leaving the regional system all started with the display of LGBTQ+ books. (Photo credit: WLOS staff)
Agen emphasized that the issue extends beyond gender ideology and identity. “We’re talking about people’s health and wellbeing, whether you believe with their identities or not, it’s a human being,” Agen said.
The South Carolina Department of Health has already begun efforts to address the curriculum changes to ensure compliance with the federal mandate, stating, “Since receiving the letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) immediately began work to address the requested changes to educational materials federally funded by the Personal Responsibility Education Program. These materials were previously approved by the federal government. DPH will work with the state’s grant subrecipients to ensure they are using curriculum that complies with the federal mandate.”
Picozzi acknowledged the rights of parents to control their children’s education but criticized the idea of completely removing certain topics from the curriculum. “I think it is absolutely okay for a parent to say, I don’t want my child to learn something and to sign that permission slip,” said Picozzi. “But I think this idea of just completely removing it and preventing kids from learning things that we know, help them live happy, healthy lives and become happy, healthy adults, I think is absolutely ridiculous.”
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, failure to comply with the administration’s changes could result in the suspension or termination of federal funding.
