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No fewer than eleven jurisdictions and two territories have complied with a new directive from the federal government to eliminate mentions of transgender issues and the existence of trans and non-binary people from a federal sexual health program, officials confirmed.

The government set a recent cutoff for stripping these mentions, warning the withdrawal of substantial government funding. Nearly all of the complying states have Republican-controlled lawmaking bodies and predominantly Republican governors.

Legal Challenges and Funding Conflicts

Sixteen other states and Washington DC have filed a lawsuit challenging the administration's demand, claiming it violates Congressional authority, which created the $75 million sex education program, known as the PREP initiative.

All states participating in the legal challenge are governed by Democrat governors.

In a recent court order, a U.S. judge prevented the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which manages the program, from withholding financial support to the suing jurisdictions if they do not adhere.

“HHS fails to show that the new grant conditions are reasonable, nor does it offer any reasonable explanation, other than pretext, for its actions,” wrote the judge, a federal jurist in the state. “HHS provides no evidence that it made factual findings or took into account the statutory objectives.”

Program Goals and Government Scrutiny

Prep seeks to educate adolescents on positive interactions and how to avoid unplanned parenthood and the spread of STIs.

In the spring, the Trump administration demanded all jurisdictions obtaining Prep funds to provide a copy of their educational materials to HHS and its agency, the Administration for Children and Families, for a “medical accuracy review”.

By late summer, the government dispatched notices to numerous jurisdictions, informing them that, during the review, it had found “material in the educational programs that fall outside the scope of Prep’s authorizing statute.”

Specifically, the government said it had identified evidence of “gender ideology,” a phrase often used by conservative groups to describe the idea that identity is a changeable cultural concept and that transgender individuals exist.

Specific Examples of Required Alterations

The administration instructed one state to remove a curriculum that stated: “Young people may identify in ways that differ from their assigned gender.”

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

Additionally, sex educators in numerous states could no longer be instructed to “demonstrate acceptance and respect 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.

Official Statements and State Responses

“Oversight is imminent,” declared Andrew Gradison, interim leader of the Administration for Children and Families, in a announcement. “Federal funds will not be used to negatively influence of the youth or advance dangerous ideological agendas.”

Several states and regions confirmed they would remove the content or had completed the process. These include eleven specific states, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Another pair of jurisdictions, Alabama and South Dakota, said their educational programs never included the language referenced in the administration’s letters.

Impact on Youth and Mental Health

Collectively, these states are inhabited by over 120k trans people aged 13 to 17, according to estimates 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,” commented an advocate, who heads an organization that offers health instruction 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 out you to your parents – when you know that that’s not safe – that’s detrimental to psychological well-being.”

Nearly half of trans and non-binary youth contemplated self-harm in the previous twelve months, according to a recent study from a mental health organization. Educational backing for these youths is associated with lower rates of self-harm attempts, the group discovered.

Previous Actions and Ongoing Disputes

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

When the Democratic-led state declined, the government revoked its funding, eliminating approximately $12m in federal funding and halting sex education programs in educational institutions, juvenile detention facilities and group homes for foster children.

The state agency is challenging the termination. So far, it has been unsuccessful in make up for the lost funding.

The government has additionally informed educators who receive money from additional national programs, the $50 million SRAE program and the $101m TPPP initiative, that they cannot teach about “gender ideology.”

An recent judicial ruling blocked the government from changing TPPP, while the Monday court order stops it from changing SRAE in the suing jurisdictions that sued over Prep.

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