Federal Officials Demands Exclusion of Transgender Topics from Sex Education Programs, Multiple States Agree

At least 11 states and two territories have complied with a new directive from the federal government to remove references of gender identity and the existence of trans and non-binary people from a federal sexual health program, officials confirmed.

The government set a recent cutoff for removing these mentions, warning the withdrawal of substantial government funding. Almost every of the complying states have Republican-controlled lawmaking bodies and predominantly Republican state leaders.

Legal Challenges and Financial Disputes

Sixteen other states and Washington DC have initiated legal action challenging the administration's demand, arguing it infringes on Congressional authority, which established the $75m sex education program, known as the Personal Responsibility Education Program (Prep).

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

In a recent court order, a federal judge prevented the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which manages Prep, from cutting funding to the suing jurisdictions if they refuse to comply.

“The agency does not demonstrate that the updated requirements are justified, let alone offer any reasonable explanation, other than an excuse, for its decisions,” stated Ann Aiken, a U.S. district judge in Oregon. “HHS provides no evidence that it made informed determinations or took into account the legal goals.”

Program Goals and Government Scrutiny

The program seeks to inform adolescents on healthy relationships and how to avoid unplanned parenthood and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections.

In the spring, the Trump administration demanded all states and territories obtaining Prep funds to provide a copy of their educational materials to HHS and its subsidiary, the ACF office, for a health content assessment.

Four months later, the administration sent letters to numerous jurisdictions, informing them that, during the review, it had discovered “material in the educational programs that deviate from the scope of Prep’s authorizing statute.”

In particular, the government claimed it had identified evidence of “gender-related concepts,” a phrase often used by rightwing factions to describe the notion that gender is a fluid social construct and that trans and non-binary people are real.

Notable Cases of Required Alterations

The administration instructed one state to drop a lesson that said: “Adolescents may express themselves in ways that don’t conform with their assigned gender.”

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

Moreover, sex educators in numerous states could no longer be instructed to “show tolerance and understanding for all students, regardless of personal characteristics, including race, cultural background, faith, social class, orientation or gender identity,” according to the letters sent to states.

Government Comments and Jurisdictional Reactions

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

Several jurisdictions and territories confirmed they would remove the content or had already done so. These consist of eleven specific states, as well as the two territories.

Another pair of jurisdictions, the states, said their Prep curricula never included the terminology mentioned in the administration’s letters.

Effects on Adolescents and Mental Health

Together, these states are home to over 120,000 transgender individuals between the ages of 13 and 17, based on estimates from a university department.

“If our goal is to help adolescents and give them a safe space, I’m not sure why we are stomping on the at-risk teenagers in the population,” said an advocate, who leads an organization that provides sex education in one state.

“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 safe – that’s detrimental to psychological well-being.”

Almost 50% of transgender adolescents contemplated self-harm in the past year, based on a 2024 survey from a mental health organization. Educational backing for these youths is linked to reduced numbers of attempted suicide, the group discovered.

Previous Actions and Ongoing Disputes

Earlier this year, the federal government instructed a state to remove mentions to transgender topics from its educational program.

When the Democratic-led state declined, the government revoked its funding, cutting approximately $12m in government money and halting sex education programs in schools, youth centers and group homes for foster children.

The California health department is challenging the termination. To date, it has been unable to replace the lost funding.

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

An recent judicial ruling prevented the administration from altering TPPP, while the latest ruling prohibits it from changing the other program in the suing jurisdictions that sued over the initiative.

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