The Department of Education, led by Education Secretary Linda McMahon, has cut off funding for a grant that supported controversial children’s programming at PBS and elsewhere.
The Trump administration has slashed funding to NPR and PBS. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports NPR and PBS, announced in a statement on Tuesday that the federal government terminated the $23 million Ready To Learn program.
“Nearly every parent has raised their kids on public broadcasting’s children’s content. For the past 30 years, Ready To Learn-funded PBS KIDS content has produced measurable, real-world impacts on children’s learning,” said Patricia Harrison, the president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. “We will work with Congress and the Administration to preserve funding for this essential program.”
Education spokeswoman Madi Biedermann said the Ready To Learn grant was being used to fund “racial justice educational programming,” according to The New York Times.
“The Trump Department of Education will prioritize funding that supports meaningful learning and improving student outcomes, not divisive ideologies and woke propaganda,” said Biedermann.
The grant’s termination came after President Donald Trump last week signed an executive order for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies to cut funding to NPR and PBS.
Ready To Learn funded productions such as the popular children’s show “Sesame Street,” which has been mired in controversy in recent years over programs related to Black Lives Matter, the LGBT movement, and other political agendas.
The official social media accounts of “Sesame Street” have endorsed gay and trans “pride” by sharing the Pride Progress flag.
“On our Street, we celebrate inclusion, belonging, and freedom of authentic self-expression. Happy #PrideMonth to all the people in our neighborhoods!” said one June 2023 post.
In 2022, the popular children’s show encouraged children to receive the COVID vaccine.
“Thanks, @sesamestreet for saying parents are allowed to have questions! You then have @elmo aggressively advocate for vaccinating children UNDER 5. But you cite ZERO scientific evidence for this,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) posted at the time.
In June 2021, “Sesame Street” aired a “Family Day” episode that featured a gay couple, Dave and Frank, and their daughter, Mia. Alan Muraoka, who co-directed the episode, touted it on Facebook with a message of “Love is love,” a slogan used to spurn traditional views on marriage and family.
In March of that year, “Sesame Street” introduced two black characters, a father and son named Elijah and Wesley Walker, to teach children about “racial literacy.”
PBS’s agenda-driven content has stretched beyond “Sesame Street.” The White House released a list of grievances against PBS last month to justify slashing funding to the broadcaster. The list includes programming pushing transgenderism as early as 2017 in a movie titled “Real Boy” about a transgender-identifying teen.
