University of California campuses mandate gender ideology training to register for classes

November 5, 2025

State harassment prevention laws are being used to compel students at California universities to endorse transgender ideology if they wish to enroll in classes.

The Christian Post reports that the University of California system is now requiring all students to take sexual violence and sexual harassment training as a condition of enrollment.

The Sexual Harassment, Anti-Discrimination, Prevention and Education (SHAPE) program claims that failing to use one’s self-declared trans pronouns or protesting the presence of men in women’s restrooms constitutes a hostile environment and qualifies as harassment.

Students are required to achieve a perfect score on the questions in the mandatory online training and testing modules in order to proceed with registration.

One module teaches that “Intentionally calling someone their name used prior to transition, as opposed to their lived name, is called dead-naming; and may be a form of sexual harassment.”

According to the Christian Post, the SHAPE initiative springs from AB 2608, a 2024 California law mandating sexual harassment and discrimination training for all students, along with updated terminology and definitions.

Some critics have complained that SHAPE elevates ideological conformity over open discourse.

Young America’s Foundation Chief Communications Officer Spencer Brown explained, “The reality and science-denying stooges at the University of California, San Diego, have shredded their institution’s ability to call itself a place of higher education by giving in to the radical Left’s gender ideology and endangering female students.”

Universities are not currently required to adopt the SHAPE program but they must develop programs that are consistent with its standards.

Among the campuses that have adopted SHAPE are UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz, UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC Irvine.

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