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

The administration set a Monday deadline for removing these mentions, threatening the loss of substantial government funding. Nearly all of the complying states have GOP-led lawmaking bodies and predominantly GOP governors.

Court Battles and Funding Disputes

Sixteen other states and the nation's capital have initiated legal action against the government's requirement, arguing it infringes on legislative power, which established the $75m sexual health initiative, known as the Personal Responsibility Education Program (Prep).

All states participating in the lawsuit are led by Democrat governors.

In a late Monday court order, a U.S. judge blocked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the program, from withholding funding to the suing jurisdictions if they do not adhere.

“The agency does not demonstrate that the new grant conditions are reasonable, let alone offer any valid reason, other than pretext, for its actions,” wrote Ann Aiken, a federal jurist in Oregon. “HHS provides no evidence that it made informed determinations or took into account the legal goals.”

Program Goals and Government Scrutiny

Prep aims to inform teenagers on positive interactions and how to prevent unplanned parenthood and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections.

In April, the federal government required all jurisdictions receiving program money to provide a copy of their educational materials to the department and its agency, the ACF office, for a health content assessment.

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

Specifically, the administration said it had uncovered evidence of “gender ideology,” a phrase often used by rightwing groups to refer to the notion that gender is a changeable social construct and that transgender individuals are real.

Specific Examples of Requested Changes

The administration directed Illinois to remove a lesson that said: “Young people may identify in ways that differ from their assigned gender.”

It told another state to eliminate a line from a middle school lesson that stated: “People of all sexual orientations and gender identities need to know how to prevent unplanned pregnancy and infections.”

Additionally, health instructors in many jurisdictions could no longer be told to “demonstrate acceptance and respect for all participants, irrespective of individual traits, including ethnicity, cultural background, faith, social class, sexual orientation or gender identity,” based on the notices sent to jurisdictions.

Government Comments and Jurisdictional Reactions

“Accountability is coming,” declared 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 harmful political doctrines.”

Several states and territories stated they would remove the content or had already done so. These include Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming, as well as the two territories.

Another pair of jurisdictions, the states, reported their educational programs never contained the terminology referenced in the administration’s letters.

Impact on Youth and Psychological Well-being

Collectively, these states are home to more than 120,000 trans people aged 13 to 17, based on estimates from a research institute.

“When the aim is to help adolescents and give them a safe space, I’m not sure why we are targeting the at-risk teenagers in the population,” said Cindi Huss, who leads an organization that provides sex education in one state.

“If authorities state that there’s something incorrect about you and the educators aren’t allowed to provide information 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 seriously considered suicide in the past year, based on a recent study from a suicide-prevention group. School support for these adolescents is linked to reduced numbers of attempted suicide, the organization found.

Earlier Incidents and Ongoing Disputes

Previously, the federal government ordered California to cut references to gender identity from its educational program.

When the jurisdiction declined, the government withdrew its funding, eliminating about $12 million in federal funding and halting health initiatives in schools, juvenile detention facilities and care facilities.

The California health department is challenging the termination. So far, it has been unsuccessful in replace the lost funding.

The government has additionally informed educators who obtain funding from additional national programs, the $50m SRAE program and the $101 million Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP), that they cannot teach about “gender-related concepts.”

An early October court order prevented the administration from changing one program, while the latest ruling stops it from modifying the other program in the Democratic states that challenged the initiative.

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