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No fewer than eleven jurisdictions and two territories have agreed to a recent demand from the federal government to eliminate references of gender identity and the existence of transgender and non-binary individuals from a federal sex education initiative, authorities confirmed.

The government established a Monday deadline for removing these mentions, warning the loss of millions in federal funds. Nearly all of the complying states have GOP-led state legislatures and mostly Republican governors.

Court Battles and Funding Disputes

Sixteen other states and Washington DC have filed a lawsuit challenging the administration's demand, arguing it infringes on Congressional authority, which established the $75m sexual health initiative, known as the Personal Responsibility Education Program (Prep).

All states involved in the legal challenge are governed by Democrat state executives.

In a late Monday judicial ruling, a U.S. judge prevented the HHS agency, which oversees Prep, from withholding financial support to the Democratic states if they refuse to comply.

“The agency does not demonstrate that the new grant conditions are reasonable, let alone offer any reasonable explanation, other than an excuse, for its decisions,” stated Ann Aiken, a U.S. district judge in the state. “The department offers no proof that it made factual findings or took into account the statutory objectives.”

Program Goals and Federal Review

The program aims to inform adolescents on positive interactions and how to avoid pregnancy and the spread of STIs.

In April, the federal government required all jurisdictions obtaining program money to provide a copy of their curriculum to HHS and its subsidiary, the ACF office, for a “medical accuracy review”.

Four months later, the government dispatched notices to numerous jurisdictions, informing them that, during the evaluation, it had found “material in the educational programs that deviate from the scope of the program's legal framework.”

In particular, the administration said it had uncovered evidence of “gender-related concepts,” a term often used by rightwing groups to describe the idea that gender is a changeable cultural concept and that trans and non-binary people are real.

Notable Cases of Required Alterations

The administration instructed Illinois to drop a lesson that said: “Young people may express themselves in ways that don’t conform with their assigned gender.”

It told another state to eliminate a sentence from a educational module that read: “People of all sexual orientations and gender identities need to know how to prevent unplanned pregnancy and infections.”

Additionally, health instructors in many jurisdictions could no longer be instructed to “show tolerance and understanding for all participants, irrespective of individual traits, including race, cultural background, religion, social class, sexual orientation or identity,” based on the notices dispatched to jurisdictions.

Government Comments and State Responses

“Accountability is coming,” declared a federal official, acting assistant secretary of the Administration for Children and Families, in a announcement. “Government money will not be used to negatively influence of the youth or promote harmful political doctrines.”

Several jurisdictions and regions confirmed they would eliminate the references or had completed the process. These consist of Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming, as well as the two territories.

Another pair of jurisdictions, Alabama and South Dakota, reported their Prep curricula never contained the language mentioned in the administration’s letters.

Impact on Youth and Psychological Well-being

Together, these states are inhabited by more than 120k trans people aged 13 to 17, based on estimates from a research institute.

“When the aim is to support youth and give them a secure environment, I’m not sure why we are targeting the at-risk teenagers in the community,” commented an advocate, who leads an organization that provides sex education in Tennessee.

“If authorities state that there’s something wrong with you and the educators aren’t allowed to provide information or they have to out you to your parents – when you know that that’s not secure – that’s horrible for mental health.”

Almost 50% of trans and non-binary youth seriously considered suicide in the past year, based on a 2024 survey from a mental health organization. School support for these youths is linked to lower rates of attempted suicide, the group found.

Earlier Incidents and Ongoing Disputes

Previously, the federal government ordered California to remove mentions to transgender topics from its educational program.

When the jurisdiction refused, the administration withdrew its funding, eliminating about $12 million in government money and stopping sex education programs in educational institutions, youth centers and group homes for foster children.

The state agency is challenging the termination. To date, it has been unsuccessful in make up for the withdrawn money.

The Trump administration has additionally informed instructors who receive funding from two other federal sex education initiatives, the $50 million SRAE program and the $101m Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP), that they cannot teach about “gender ideology.”

An recent court order blocked the government from changing TPPP, while the Monday court order prohibits it from modifying the other program in the suing jurisdictions that challenged the initiative.

The ACF office did not immediately respond to a inquiry.