HR8705-119

What This Bill Does

The CHARLIE Act amends the American history and civics education program in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It says program funds may not be used for discriminatory equity ideology or gender ideology, using definitions from Executive Order 14190 and Executive Order 14168. It also prohibits the Secretary of Education from giving grant priority based on race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigration status, including the identity or purpose of the eligible entity, the identity of the people who control, work for, or are served by the entity, or the proposed grant activities.

Who Benefits and How

Applicants opposing race- or gender-based grant preferences benefit because the Secretary may not prioritize history and civics grants on those grounds. State and local education agencies using a neutral application theory benefit from clearer statutory limits. Parents who object to the covered ideologies benefit from a federal funding restriction. Education Department grant reviewers benefit from explicit criteria on what priorities are barred.

Who Bears the Burden and How

History and civics grant recipients must avoid using funds for the defined ideologies. Education Department grant staff must remove barred priority factors from competitions. Organizations seeking priority for race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, or related program design lose that priority path. Civil rights and gender identity curriculum advocates may face reduced access to this grant stream for covered activities.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits American history and civics funds from being used for discriminatory equity ideology.
• Prohibits those funds from being used for gender ideology.
• Bars grant priority based on race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigration status.
• Applies the priority ban to applicant identity, staff, served populations, and proposed activities.
• Uses definitions from Executive Orders 14190 and 14168.