State Farm will stop donating LGBTQ-themed books to schools after an email about the program leaked online

• State Farm has stopped a program that would donate LGBTQ-themed books to schools.
• State Farm shut down the program after a leaked company email about it was published online.

State Farm is stopping a program that would donate LGBTQ-themed books to schools after an internal email detailing the program leaked online.

"State Farm's support of a philanthropic program, GenderCool, has been the subject of news and customer inquiries," the company said in a statement to Insider.

"This program that included books about gender identity was intended to promote inclusivity. We support organizations that provide resources for parents to have conversations about gender and identity with their children at home. We do not support required curriculum in schools on this topic," the statement continued.

"As a result, we have made the decision we will no longer be affiliated with the organization. We will continue to explore how we can support our associates, as well as organizations that align with our commitment to diversity and inclusion, including the LGBTQ+ community," the statement said.

In an internal email obtained by the conservative group Consumers' Research, the auto insurance company said it was partnering with The GenderCool Project to "help diversify classrooms" by donating books about being transgender and non-binary.

"The project's goal is to increase representation of LGBTQ+ books and support our communities in having challenging, important, and empowering conversations with children age 5+," the email to State Farm employees said.

Will Hild, the executive director of Consumers' Research's Consumers First Initiative, criticized the leaked email on Twitter.

"This gross and blatant attempt to indoctrinate our children by @StateFarm is shameless and consumers should be aware a company founded on family values is now encouraging five-year-old children to question their gender," he said.

The Washington Examiner reported that the company initially denied it ever provided any of the books to schools.

But an April 2 Facebook post from a Tacoma, Washington private school thanked State Farm for the books, suggesting the program already donated a package of books to at least one school.