Stop the Sexualization of Children Act

This Act may be cited as the “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act”.

Section 8526 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7906) is amended—

(1) by striking “No funds under this Act may be used—” and inserting the following:

“(a) General prohibitions.— No funds under this Act may be used—”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

“(b) Prohibition on funding for sexually oriented material.—

(1) In general.— No funds under this Act may be used to develop, implement, facilitate, host, or promote any program or activity for, or to provide or promote literature or other materials to, children under the age of 18 that includes sexually oriented material, including any program, activity, literature, or material that exposes such children to nude adults, individuals who are stripping, or lewd or lascivious dancing.

(2) Rule of construction.— Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the use of funds under this Act for, or otherwise limit or interfere with, teaching—

(A) standard science coursework, including biology, botany, zoology, microbiology, cytology, genetics, ecology, human health, or human anatomy and physiology;

(B) the texts of major world religions;

(C) classic works of literature;

(D) classic works of art; or

(E) security measures designed to help students recognize and safely respond to methods and attempts to sexually traffic children or to groom children for sexual trafficking, including the use of real world examples based in criminal law, including the fact patterns associated with the criminal cases brought against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

(3) Definitions.— In this subsection:

(A) Classic works of art.— The term classic works of art means the works of art depicted, referenced, or otherwise represented in Smarthistory guide to AP Art History, volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (2019–2020), published by Smarthistory.

(B) Classic works of literature.— The term classic works of literature means the works of literature (including translations of such works)—

(i) included in the Great Books of the Western World (second edition, 1990), published by Encyclopaedia Britannica;

(ii) referenced in the article “Classics Every Middle Schooler Should Read” by Thomas Purifoy, Jr. and published by Compass Classroom (as such article appeared on the date of enactment of this subsection); and

(iii) referenced in the article “Classics Every High Schooler Should Read” by Mary Pierson Purifoy and published by Compass Classroom (as such article appeared on the date of enactment of this subsection).

(C) Sexually oriented material.— The term sexually oriented material means material that—

(i) includes any depiction, description, or simulation of sexually explicit conduct (as defined in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 2256(2) of title 18, United States Code); or

(ii) involves gender dysphoria or transgenderism.”.