BATON ROUGE — The state education department has updated its curriculum to reflect President Donald Trump's name change of the Gulf just south of Louisiana.

On Wednesday, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education unanimously approved a change to the state's social studies standards to rename the Gulf of Mexico into the Gulf of America for the 2025-2026 school year.

"Louisiana schools will not be required to purchase new instructional materials ahead of their regular update schedule, with digital materials likely being updated faster than materials that have already been printed," the Louisiana Department of Education said.

Louisiana's Freedom Framework social studies standards — a curriculum that tells "the story of American exceptionalism" — specifically reference the Gulf in fourth-grade and fifth-grade classes. These updates will take effect in the 2025-2026 school year.

The Gulf's name change was one of the first policies Trump enacted during his second term. The change was reflected by the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Weather Service, the National Hurricane Center and the U.S. Geographic Names Information System. State agencies like the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries have also adopted the new name.

Corporations like Chevron, Murphy Oil, Shell, Google, Apple and Microsoft have also updated maps and materials to reflect the name change in the United States. It is important to note that the change is not reflected outside of the United States and that bodies outside of America may not have changed the name of the body of water.

"Updating our academic standards ensures alignment with the leadership of President Trump and Governor Landry while reinforcing the Gulf's significance to our state's future," Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said.