US President Donald Trump issued a warning to public schools on Monday, declaring that any school employee who tells a child they may have been born in the wrong body will be treated as having committed “child abuse”.
Speaking at a “Back to School” event in the White House Rose Garden alongside Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Trump delivered a blunt message to educators nationwide, threatening to cut federal funding and open civil rights investigations against districts that do not comply.
“Every public school in America is now on notice that if they tell a child that they’re trapped in the wrong body, they are committing child abuse,” Trump told the crowd of students, parents, and educators.
The warning follows federal enforcement action already underway against school districts in Maryland and Michigan over their handling of students’ gender identity, and is in line with language Trump has used repeatedly since his 2024 campaign, including in a March 2025 address to Congress.
At Monday’s event, Trump said his administration had worked to remove what he called “gender ideology” and “critical race theory” from public schools.
“And as we remove the far-left extremism from the classroom, we’re taking historic action to ensure that every child in America has access to a first-class education.” McMahon, appearing alongside him, said parents were now “back in the driver’s seat” after years of what she described as an education system centralised in Washington.
Trump also aimed what he called “transgender insanity” in schools, telling the audience: “Students were taught that our heroes are villains. The FBI was used to target patriotic parents at school board meetings. And meanwhile, far too many government-run schools failed at the basics.”
The remarks quickly circulated on social media with supporters, including some conservative commentators and faith leaders, praising the announcement as overdue protection for vulnerable children. Critics dismissed it as political theatre, arguing that schools do not instruct students on gender identity in the way the administration describes.
It remains unclear precisely how the administration intends to enforce the new standard, including what specific conduct by teachers or counsellors would trigger funding cuts or federal civil rights investigations.