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No fewer than eleven jurisdictions and two territories have complied with a recent directive from the Trump administration to remove references of transgender issues and the existence of transgender and non-binary individuals from a national sex education initiative, authorities confirmed.

The administration set a Monday deadline for removing these references, warning the loss of millions in federal funds. Almost every of the complying states have GOP-led lawmaking bodies and mostly GOP governors.

Court Battles and Funding 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 $75m sex education program, known as the PREP initiative.

All states involved in the legal challenge are governed by Democratic state executives.

In a recent court order, a U.S. judge prevented the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which manages the program, from cutting financial support to the suing jurisdictions 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 pretext, for its decisions,” wrote Ann Aiken, a federal jurist in the state. “The department offers no proof that it made informed determinations or considered the legal goals.”

Initiative Aims and Government Scrutiny

Prep aims to educate adolescents on healthy relationships and how to avoid unplanned parenthood and the spread of sexually transmitted infections.

In the spring, the federal government demanded all jurisdictions receiving program money to submit a copy of their educational materials to HHS and its subsidiary, the ACF office, for a health content assessment.

Four months later, the administration dispatched notices to numerous jurisdictions, informing them that, during the review, it had discovered “material in the curricula that fall outside the purview of the program's legal framework.”

Specifically, the government said it had uncovered evidence of “gender-related concepts,” a phrase often used by conservative groups to refer to the notion that gender is a fluid cultural concept and that transgender individuals are real.

Specific Examples of Requested Changes

The administration directed Illinois to remove a lesson that said: “Adolescents may express themselves in ways that differ from their assigned gender.”

It instructed North Carolina to eliminate a sentence from a middle school lesson that stated: “Individuals regardless of identity need to know how to prevent unplanned pregnancy and infections.”

Additionally, health instructors in numerous states could no longer be instructed to “show tolerance and understanding for all participants, irrespective of personal characteristics, including race, cultural background, faith, economic status, orientation or gender identity,” according to the notices dispatched to jurisdictions.

Government Comments and State Responses

“Accountability is coming,” declared Andrew Gradison, interim leader of the ACF office, in a statement. “Government money will not be used to negatively influence of the youth or promote dangerous ideological agendas.”

Multiple states and territories confirmed they would remove the content or had already done so. These include eleven specific states, as well as the two territories.

Another pair of jurisdictions, Alabama and South Dakota, reported their educational programs never included the terminology mentioned in the administration’s letters.

Impact on Youth and Mental Health

Collectively, these jurisdictions are home to more than 120k trans people aged 13 to 17, based on estimates from a university department.

“When the aim is to support youth and give them a safe space, I’m not sure why we are targeting the most vulnerable youth in the population,” said an advocate, who leads an organization that provides sex education in Tennessee.

“When the government says that there’s something wrong with you and the teachers 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 trans and non-binary youth contemplated self-harm in the past year, based on a recent study from a mental health organization. Educational backing for these youths is associated with lower rates of attempted suicide, the organization discovered.

Previous Actions and Continuing Conflicts

Previously, the federal government instructed a state to remove references to gender identity from its Prep curriculum.

When the Democratic-led state refused, the administration revoked its funding, cutting approximately $12m in federal funding and halting sex education programs in educational institutions, youth centers and care facilities.

The California health department is challenging the withdrawal. To date, it has been unable to make up for the withdrawn money.

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

An recent court order prevented the government from changing TPPP, while the latest ruling prohibits it from modifying the other program in the Democratic states that challenged Prep.

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