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No fewer than eleven jurisdictions and a pair of regions have agreed to a recent demand from the Trump administration to eliminate references of gender identity and the existence of trans and non-binary people from a federal sexual health program, officials stated.

The government set a recent cutoff for stripping these references, warning the withdrawal of substantial government funding. Almost every of the agreeing jurisdictions have Republican-controlled state legislatures and predominantly Republican governors.

Legal Challenges and Financial Conflicts

Sixteen other states and Washington DC have filed a lawsuit against the administration's demand, claiming it infringes on legislative power, which established the $75m sex education program, known as the PREP initiative.

All jurisdictions involved in the lawsuit are led by Democrat state executives.

In a late Monday court order, a U.S. judge prevented the HHS agency, which oversees Prep, from withholding financial support to the Democratic states if they do not adhere.

“HHS fails to show that the updated requirements are reasonable, nor does it offer any valid reason, other than an excuse, for its decisions,” stated the judge, a federal jurist in Oregon. “HHS provides no evidence that it made factual findings or considered the statutory objectives.”

Program Goals and Federal Review

The program aims to inform teenagers on healthy relationships and how to prevent pregnancy and the spread of STIs.

In April, the federal government demanded all states and territories receiving Prep funds to provide a version of their educational materials to HHS and its subsidiary, the Administration for Children and Families, for a “medical accuracy review”.

By late summer, the government dispatched notices to numerous jurisdictions, stating that, during the evaluation, it had found “content in the educational programs that deviate from the purview of Prep’s authorizing statute.”

Specifically, the government said it had identified evidence of “gender ideology,” a term often used by conservative factions to refer to the idea that gender is a fluid social construct and that trans and non-binary people exist.

Specific Examples of Required Alterations

The administration directed Illinois to drop a curriculum that stated: “Adolescents may express themselves in ways that don’t conform with their biological sex.”

It told North Carolina to eliminate a sentence from a educational module that stated: “Individuals regardless of identity 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 ethnicity, heritage, faith, social class, orientation or identity,” according to the notices dispatched to states.

Official Statements and Jurisdictional Reactions

“Accountability is coming,” said Andrew Gradison, interim leader of the Administration for Children and Families, in a announcement. “Government money will not be used to negatively influence of the next generation or promote harmful political doctrines.”

Several jurisdictions and regions confirmed they would remove the references or had completed the process. These include 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, the states, said their Prep curricula never included the terminology mentioned in the government's notices.

Effects on Adolescents and Psychological Well-being

Together, these states are home to over 120,000 trans people between the ages of 13 and 17, according to estimates from a university department.

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

“When the government says that there’s something incorrect about you and the teachers aren’t allowed to provide information or they have to disclose your identity to family – when you know that that’s not secure – that’s detrimental to psychological well-being.”

Almost 50% of trans and non-binary youth seriously considered suicide in the previous twelve months, according to a 2024 survey from a mental health organization. Educational backing for these adolescents is linked to lower rates of self-harm attempts, the group discovered.

Previous Actions and Ongoing Disputes

Previously, the Trump administration instructed a state to remove mentions to transgender topics from its educational program.

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

The California health department is challenging the withdrawal. To date, it has been unsuccessful in make up for the withdrawn money.

The Trump administration has also told instructors who obtain funding from two other federal sex education initiatives, the $50m SRAE program and the $101 million TPPP initiative, that they may not teach about “gender-related concepts.”

An recent judicial ruling blocked the administration from changing TPPP, while the Monday court order prohibits it from modifying SRAE in the suing jurisdictions that challenged the initiative.

The Administration for Children and Families did not immediately respond to a inquiry.