🔗 Share this article

No fewer than 11 states and two territories have agreed to a new directive from the federal government to remove references of gender identity and the presence of trans and non-binary people from a national sexual health program, authorities confirmed.

The administration set a recent cutoff for removing these mentions, threatening the withdrawal of millions in federal funds. Almost every of the agreeing jurisdictions have GOP-led lawmaking bodies and predominantly GOP governors.

Court Battles and Funding Conflicts

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

All jurisdictions participating in the lawsuit are governed by Democrat governors.

In a late Monday judicial ruling, a U.S. judge blocked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which manages Prep, from withholding financial support to the suing jurisdictions if they do not adhere.

“HHS fails to show that the updated requirements are justified, nor does it offer any valid reason, other than pretext, for its actions,” wrote the judge, 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.”

Initiative Aims and Government Scrutiny

The program aims to educate adolescents on positive interactions and how to avoid unplanned parenthood and the spread of STIs.

In the spring, the federal government demanded all jurisdictions obtaining program money to provide a copy of their educational materials to the department and its subsidiary, the Administration for Children and Families, for a health content assessment.

By late summer, the government sent letters to 46 states and territories, informing them that, during the evaluation, it had discovered “material in the curricula that fall outside the purview of Prep’s authorizing statute.”

Specifically, the government said it had uncovered evidence of “gender-related concepts,” a term often used by conservative groups to describe the notion that gender is a fluid social construct and that transgender individuals exist.

Notable Cases of Required Alterations

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

It told North Carolina to delete a line from a middle school lesson that read: “Individuals regardless of identity need to know how to prevent unplanned pregnancy and infections.”

Moreover, sex educators in many jurisdictions could no longer be instructed to “demonstrate acceptance and respect for all students, irrespective of individual traits, including ethnicity, cultural background, faith, economic status, orientation or gender identity,” based on the notices sent to jurisdictions.

Government Comments and State Responses

“Oversight is imminent,” said a federal official, interim leader of the ACF office, in a statement. “Federal funds will not be used to negatively influence of the youth or promote dangerous ideological agendas.”

Multiple jurisdictions and territories stated 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.

Two other states, the states, reported their Prep curricula never included the language mentioned in the government's notices.

Impact on Youth and Psychological Well-being

Together, these states are inhabited by more than 120,000 trans people aged 13 to 17, according to estimates from a research institute.

“If our goal is to support youth and give them a secure environment, I’m not sure why we are stomping on the at-risk teenagers in the community,” said an advocate, who leads Rise that provides sex education in one state.

“If authorities state that there’s something incorrect about you and the teachers aren’t allowed to tell you things or they have to disclose your identity to family – when you know that that’s not safe – that’s horrible for mental health.”

Almost 50% of transgender adolescents seriously considered suicide in the past year, based on a recent study from a suicide-prevention group. School support for these youths is associated with reduced numbers of attempted suicide, the group found.

Earlier Incidents and Ongoing Disputes

Previously, the federal government instructed a state to cut references to transgender topics from its Prep curriculum.

When the jurisdiction refused, the administration revoked its funding, cutting about $12 million in government money and halting sex education programs in schools, youth centers and care facilities.

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

The Trump administration has also informed educators who obtain money from two other federal sex education initiatives, the $50 million SRAE program and the $101 million TPPP initiative, that they cannot teach about “gender ideology.”

An early October judicial ruling prevented the administration from altering TPPP, while the Monday court order stops it from changing SRAE in the Democratic states that challenged the initiative.

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