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At least eleven jurisdictions and two territories have agreed to a new directive from the Trump administration to eliminate mentions of transgender issues and the presence of trans and non-binary people from a national sexual health program, officials stated.

The government set a recent cutoff for removing these references, warning the loss of substantial government funding. Almost every of the complying states have GOP-led state legislatures and mostly Republican governors.

Court Battles and Financial Conflicts

An additional sixteen jurisdictions and the nation's capital have filed a lawsuit against the administration's demand, claiming it infringes on legislative power, which created the $75 million sex education program, known as the PREP initiative.

All jurisdictions participating in the lawsuit are led by Democratic governors.

In a recent judicial ruling, a federal judge blocked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the program, from cutting financial support to the Democratic states if they refuse to comply.

“HHS fails to show that the new grant conditions are reasonable, nor does it offer any valid reason, other than an excuse, for its decisions,” stated Ann Aiken, a U.S. district judge in the state. “HHS provides no evidence that it made factual findings or considered the legal goals.”

Program Goals and Federal Review

The program aims to educate adolescents on healthy relationships and how to avoid pregnancy and the spread of STIs.

In April, the federal government demanded all states and territories obtaining program money to provide a version of their curriculum to the department and its agency, the Administration for Children and Families, for a “medical accuracy review”.

By late summer, the government sent letters to numerous jurisdictions, stating that, during the review, it had found “material in the curricula that fall outside the purview of the program's legal framework.”

In particular, the government claimed it had uncovered evidence of “gender-related concepts,” a term often used by conservative factions to describe the notion that gender is a fluid social construct and that transgender individuals are real.

Specific Examples of Requested Changes

The government directed Illinois to remove a lesson that stated: “Adolescents may identify in ways that differ from their biological sex.”

It instructed another state to delete a line from a middle school lesson that read: “Individuals regardless of identity need to know how to prevent pregnancy and STDs.”

Additionally, sex educators in numerous states could no longer be instructed to “demonstrate acceptance and respect for all participants, regardless of personal characteristics, including race, cultural background, religion, economic status, orientation or gender identity,” based on the letters sent to jurisdictions.

Government Comments and Jurisdictional Reactions

“Oversight is imminent,” said a federal official, acting assistant secretary of the ACF office, in a statement. “Federal funds will not be used to poison the minds of the next generation or promote harmful political doctrines.”

Several jurisdictions and regions confirmed they would remove the content 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 referenced in the government's notices.

Effects on Adolescents and Mental Health

Together, these states are inhabited by over 120,000 trans people aged 13 to 17, according to projections from a university department.

“If our goal is to help adolescents and give them a safe space, I’m not sure why we are targeting the at-risk teenagers in the community,” said Cindi Huss, who leads Rise that offers health instruction in one state.

“When the government says that there’s something wrong with you and the educators aren’t allowed to tell you things or they have to out you to your parents – when you know that that’s not safe – that’s horrible for mental health.”

Nearly half of transgender adolescents seriously considered suicide in the previous twelve months, based on a 2024 survey from a mental health organization. School support for these adolescents is associated with reduced numbers of attempted suicide, the group found.

Earlier Incidents and Ongoing Disputes

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

When the Democratic-led state declined, the administration withdrew its Prep grant, cutting approximately $12m in federal funding and halting health initiatives in educational institutions, juvenile detention facilities and group homes for foster children.

The state agency is challenging the termination. To date, it has been unable to make up for the lost funding.

The Trump administration has also informed instructors who receive funding from additional national programs, the $50 million Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) and the $101 million Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP), that they cannot teach about “gender ideology.”

An early October judicial ruling blocked the administration from altering one program, while the Monday court order prohibits it from modifying the other program in the Democratic states that challenged the initiative.

The ACF office did not immediately respond to a inquiry.