Text of US HB 7661 (2026)

I 119TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7661 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to prohibit the use of funds provided under such Act to develop, implement, facili- tate, 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, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 24, 2026 Mrs. MILLER of Illinois (for herself, Mr. DOWNING, Mr. FINE, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. OGLES, Ms. HAGEMAN, Mr. STUTZMAN, Mr. MOORE of Alabama, Mrs. BIGGS of South Carolina, Ms. LETLOW, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. ROY, Mr. DAVIDSON, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. ROSE, Mr. OWENS, and Mr. SELF) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Education and Workforce A BILL To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to prohibit the use of funds provided under such Act to develop, implement, facilitate, host, or pro- mote any program or activity for, or to provide or pro- mote literature or other materials to, children under the age of 18 that includes sexually oriented material, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 Feb 25, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7661.IH H7661 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7661 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop the Sexualization 2 of Children Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. PROHIBITING FUNDING FOR SEXUALLY ORIENTED 4 MATERIAL. 5 Section 8526 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 6 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7906) is amended— 7 (1) by striking ‘‘No funds under this Act may 8 be used—’’ and inserting the following: 9 ‘‘(a) GENERAL PROHIBITIONS.—No funds under this 10 Act may be used—’’; and 11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 12 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITING FUNDING FOR SEXUALLY ORI- 13 ENTED MATERIAL.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No funds under this Act 15 may be used to develop, implement, facilitate, host, 16 or promote any program or activity for, or to provide 17 or promote literature or other materials to, children 18 under the age of 18 that includes sexually oriented 19 material, including any program, activity, literature, 20 or material that exposes such children to nude 21 adults, individuals who are stripping, or lewd or las- 22 civious dancing. 23 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 24 this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the use 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 Feb 25, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7661.IH H7661 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7661 IH of funds under this Act for, or otherwise limit or 1 interfere with, teaching— 2 ‘‘(A) standard science coursework, includ- 3 ing biology, botany, zoology, microbiology, cytol- 4 ogy, genetics, ecology, human health, or human 5 anatomy and physiology; 6 ‘‘(B) the texts of major world religions; 7 ‘‘(C) classic works of literature; or 8 ‘‘(D) classic works of art. 9 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 10 ‘‘(A) CLASSIC WORKS OF ART.—The term 11 ‘classic works of art’ means the works of art de- 12 picted, referenced, or otherwise represented in 13 Smarthistory guide to AP Art History, volumes 14 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (2019–2020), published by 15 Smarthistory. 16 ‘‘(B) CLASSIC WORKS OF LITERATURE.— 17 The term ‘classic works of literature’ means the 18 works of literature (including translations of 19 such works)— 20 ‘‘(i) included in the Great Books of 21 the Western World (second edition, 1990), 22 published by Encyclopaedia Britannica; 23 ‘‘(ii) referenced in the article ‘Classics 24 Every Middle Schooler Should Read’ by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 Feb 25, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7661.IH H7661 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7661 IH Thomas Purifoy, Jr. and published by 1 Compass Classroom (as such article ap- 2 peared on the date of enactment of this 3 subsection); and 4 ‘‘(iii) referenced in the article 5 ‘Classics Every High Schooler Should 6 Read’ by Mary Pierson Purifoy and pub- 7 lished by Compass Classroom (as such ar- 8 ticle appeared on the date of enactment of 9 this subsection). 10 ‘‘(C) SEXUALLY ORIENTED MATERIAL.— 11 The term ‘sexually oriented material’ means 12 material that— 13 ‘‘(i) includes any depiction, descrip- 14 tion, or simulation of sexually explicit con- 15 duct (as defined in subparagraphs (A) and 16 (B) of section 2256(2) of title 18, United 17 States Code); or 18 ‘‘(ii) involves gender dysphoria or 19 transgenderism.’’. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 Feb 25, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7661.IH H7661 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS