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No fewer than 11 states and two territories have agreed to a recent directive from the Trump administration to remove references of transgender issues and the existence of trans and non-binary people from a national sex education initiative, officials stated.

The administration set a Monday deadline for stripping these mentions, warning the withdrawal of substantial government funding. Almost every of the agreeing jurisdictions have Republican-controlled lawmaking bodies and predominantly GOP state leaders.

Court Battles and Financial Conflicts

Sixteen other states and Washington DC have filed a lawsuit against the government's requirement, claiming it infringes on legislative power, which created the $75 million sexual health initiative, known as the Personal Responsibility Education Program (Prep).

All jurisdictions involved in the legal challenge are led by Democratic state executives.

In a late Monday judicial ruling, a U.S. judge prevented the HHS agency, which manages the program, from cutting funding to the Democratic states if they refuse to comply.

“The agency does not demonstrate that the updated requirements are justified, nor does it offer any reasonable explanation, other than an excuse, for its decisions,” wrote the judge, a U.S. district judge in Oregon. “The department offers no proof that it made informed determinations or considered the legal goals.”

Initiative Aims and Government Scrutiny

The program seeks to educate adolescents on positive interactions and how to avoid unplanned parenthood and the spread of sexually transmitted infections.

In the spring, the federal government required all jurisdictions receiving program money to submit a copy of their educational materials to the department and its agency, the Administration for Children and Families, for a health content assessment.

Four months later, the administration dispatched notices to 46 states and territories, informing them that, during the review, it had discovered “content in the curricula that fall outside the scope of Prep’s authorizing statute.”

Specifically, the administration claimed it had identified evidence of “gender-related concepts,” a phrase often used by rightwing factions to describe the idea that gender is a changeable social construct and that trans and non-binary people are real.

Notable Cases of Requested Changes

The government instructed one state to remove a lesson that stated: “Adolescents may express themselves in ways that differ from their biological sex.”

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

Moreover, health instructors in many jurisdictions could no longer be instructed to “show tolerance and understanding for all students, regardless of personal characteristics, including ethnicity, cultural background, faith, economic status, sexual orientation or identity,” according to the letters sent to states.

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 youth or promote dangerous ideological agendas.”

Several jurisdictions and regions confirmed they would eliminate the references or had already done so. These include eleven specific states, as well as the two territories.

Another pair of jurisdictions, the states, said their educational programs never included the terminology mentioned in the government's notices.

Effects on Adolescents and Mental Health

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

“When the aim is to support youth and give them a safe space, I’m not sure why we are stomping on the at-risk teenagers in the community,” said an advocate, who leads an organization that offers health instruction in Tennessee.

“When the government says 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 secure – that’s horrible for mental health.”

Almost 50% of trans and non-binary youth seriously considered suicide in the past year, according to a 2024 survey from a suicide-prevention group. School support for these youths is linked to lower rates of self-harm attempts, the group discovered.

Previous Actions and Ongoing Disputes

Earlier this year, the Trump administration ordered a state to remove mentions to gender identity from its Prep curriculum.

When the Democratic-led state declined, the administration withdrew its funding, eliminating about $12 million in federal funding and halting sex education programs in educational institutions, youth centers and group homes for foster children.

The state agency is challenging the withdrawal. So far, it has been unable to make up for the withdrawn money.

The Trump administration has additionally informed instructors who receive funding from additional national programs, the $50 million SRAE program and the $101 million Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP), that they may not teach about “gender ideology.”

An recent judicial ruling blocked the government from changing one program, while the latest ruling stops it from changing SRAE in the Democratic states that sued over the initiative.

The ACF office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.