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No fewer than 11 states and a pair of regions have complied with a new directive from the Trump administration to remove references of gender identity and the presence of trans and non-binary people from a national sex education initiative, authorities stated.

The government established a Monday deadline for removing these references, threatening the withdrawal of substantial government funding. Nearly all of the complying states have GOP-led state legislatures and mostly GOP governors.

Court Battles and Financial Disputes

An additional sixteen jurisdictions and the nation's capital have initiated legal action against the government's requirement, claiming it violates Congressional authority, which established the $75m sex education program, known as the PREP initiative.

All jurisdictions involved in the lawsuit are governed by Democrat state executives.

In a late Monday judicial ruling, a federal judge prevented the HHS agency, which oversees Prep, from withholding funding to the Democratic states 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 an excuse, for its decisions,” wrote the judge, 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 aims to inform teenagers on healthy relationships and how to avoid pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted infections.

In April, the federal government demanded all states and territories obtaining Prep funds to submit a copy of their curriculum to the department and its subsidiary, the Administration for Children and Families, for a health content assessment.

Four months later, the government dispatched notices to 46 states and territories, informing them that, during the review, it had found “material in the educational programs that deviate from the purview of the program's legal framework.”

In particular, the government claimed it had uncovered evidence of “gender-related concepts,” a phrase often used by conservative groups to describe the idea that identity is a fluid cultural concept and that transgender individuals exist.

Notable Cases of Requested Changes

The administration instructed Illinois to drop a lesson that stated: “Adolescents may identify in ways that don’t conform with their biological sex.”

It told another state to delete a line from a educational module that stated: “People of all sexual orientations and gender identities need to know how to avoid pregnancy and STDs.”

Additionally, health instructors in many jurisdictions could no longer be told to “demonstrate acceptance and respect for all participants, regardless of personal characteristics, including race, cultural background, religion, economic status, orientation or identity,” based on the notices dispatched to jurisdictions.

Government Comments and State Responses

“Accountability is coming,” declared a federal official, acting assistant secretary of the Administration for Children and Families, in a statement. “Federal funds will not be used to poison the minds of the next generation or promote dangerous ideological agendas.”

Several jurisdictions and regions stated they would remove the references or had already done so. These consist of Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands.

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

Impact on Youth and Psychological Well-being

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

“When the aim is to support youth and give them a secure environment, I’m not sure why we are targeting the most vulnerable youth in the community,” commented Cindi Huss, who heads Rise that provides sex education in Tennessee.

“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 horrible for mental health.”

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

Earlier Incidents and Continuing Conflicts

Earlier this year, the Trump administration ordered California to remove references to gender identity from its Prep curriculum.

When the Democratic-led state declined, the administration revoked its funding, eliminating approximately $12m in government money and stopping health initiatives in educational institutions, youth centers and care facilities.

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

The Trump administration has additionally informed instructors who receive funding from additional national programs, the $50m SRAE program and the $101 million TPPP initiative, that they may not teach about “gender-related concepts.”

An early October judicial ruling blocked the government from changing TPPP, while the latest ruling prohibits it from changing SRAE in the suing jurisdictions that challenged the initiative.

The ACF office did not immediately respond to a inquiry.