Trump Administration Demands Removal of Transgender Issues from Sexual Health Curricula, Several States Agree

At least 11 states and two territories have agreed to a new directive from the Trump administration to eliminate references of gender identity and the presence of transgender and non-binary individuals from a national sex education initiative, authorities confirmed.

The government set a recent cutoff for stripping these mentions, threatening the withdrawal of substantial government funding. Nearly all of the agreeing jurisdictions have Republican-controlled state legislatures and predominantly GOP state leaders.

Court Battles and Financial Conflicts

Sixteen other states and the nation's capital have initiated legal action challenging the administration's demand, claiming it violates legislative power, which established the $75 million sexual health initiative, known as the Personal Responsibility Education Program (Prep).

All jurisdictions involved in the lawsuit are governed by Democratic governors.

In a late Monday judicial ruling, a U.S. judge blocked the HHS agency, which manages Prep, from withholding funding 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 reasonable explanation, other than an excuse, for its decisions,” wrote Ann Aiken, a federal jurist in the state. “HHS provides no evidence that it made factual findings or considered the legal goals.”

Initiative Aims and Government Scrutiny

Prep aims to inform adolescents on healthy relationships and how to prevent unplanned parenthood and the transmission of STIs.

In the spring, the Trump administration demanded all states and territories receiving Prep funds to provide a copy of their curriculum to HHS and its subsidiary, the ACF office, for a “medical accuracy review”.

By late summer, the government sent letters to numerous jurisdictions, informing them that, during the review, it had discovered “content in the educational programs that deviate from the purview of Prep’s authorizing statute.”

In particular, the administration said it had uncovered evidence of “gender ideology,” a phrase often used by rightwing groups to describe the idea that gender is a fluid social construct and that transgender individuals exist.

Specific Examples of Required Alterations

The government directed Illinois to remove a curriculum that stated: “Adolescents may express themselves in ways that differ from their assigned gender.”

It instructed another state to eliminate a line from a educational module that read: “Individuals regardless of identity need to know how to prevent unplanned pregnancy and infections.”

Additionally, sex educators in numerous states could no longer be told to “show tolerance and understanding for all participants, regardless of individual traits, including ethnicity, heritage, religion, social class, sexual orientation or gender identity,” according to the letters sent to jurisdictions.

Government Comments and State Responses

“Accountability is coming,” declared a federal official, interim leader of the ACF office, in a statement. “Federal funds will not be used to poison the minds of the youth or advance dangerous ideological agendas.”

Several jurisdictions and territories confirmed they would eliminate the references or had completed the process. These consist of eleven specific states, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands.

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

Impact on Youth and Mental Health

Together, these states are home to over 120k trans people aged 13 to 17, according to projections from a research institute.

“When the aim is to help adolescents and give them a secure environment, I’m not sure why we are targeting the most vulnerable youth in the population,” 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 secure – that’s detrimental to psychological well-being.”

Nearly half of transgender adolescents seriously considered suicide in the past year, based on a recent study from a mental health organization. School support for these adolescents is linked to lower rates of attempted suicide, the organization found.

Previous Actions and Continuing Conflicts

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

When the Democratic-led state declined, the administration withdrew its Prep grant, eliminating approximately $12m in government money and stopping health initiatives in schools, youth centers and care facilities.

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

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

An early October judicial ruling blocked the government from altering TPPP, while the Monday court order prohibits it from changing the other program in the suing jurisdictions that challenged Prep.

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