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No fewer than eleven jurisdictions and two territories have agreed to a new demand from the federal government to remove references of transgender issues and the presence of trans and non-binary people from a national sexual health program, authorities confirmed.

The government established a recent cutoff for stripping these mentions, warning the withdrawal of substantial government funding. Almost every of the agreeing jurisdictions have Republican-controlled lawmaking bodies and predominantly GOP governors.

Legal Challenges and Financial Disputes

An additional sixteen jurisdictions and Washington DC have filed a lawsuit challenging the government's requirement, claiming it violates Congressional authority, which created the $75m sex education program, known as the Personal Responsibility Education Program (Prep).

All states participating in the lawsuit are led by Democratic state executives.

In a late Monday court order, a federal judge blocked the HHS agency, which oversees the program, from withholding funding to the suing jurisdictions if they refuse to comply.

“HHS fails to show that the new grant conditions are justified, let alone offer any valid reason, other than an excuse, for its actions,” wrote Ann Aiken, a federal jurist in Oregon. “The department offers no proof that it made informed determinations or considered the legal goals.”

Program Goals and Government Scrutiny

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

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

By late summer, the government sent letters to 46 states and territories, informing them that, during the evaluation, it had found “material in the curricula that deviate from the scope of Prep’s authorizing statute.”

Specifically, the administration claimed it had uncovered evidence of “gender ideology,” a term often used by rightwing groups to refer to the idea that identity is a fluid social construct and that trans and non-binary people exist.

Notable Cases of Required Alterations

The administration directed one state to remove a curriculum that stated: “Young people may identify in ways that don’t conform with their biological sex.”

It told North Carolina to eliminate a line from a middle school lesson that read: “People of all sexual orientations and gender identities need to know how to prevent pregnancy and STDs.”

Moreover, health instructors in numerous states could no longer be instructed to “show tolerance and understanding for all participants, regardless of personal characteristics, including ethnicity, cultural background, religion, social class, sexual orientation or gender identity,” according to the notices sent to states.

Government Comments and State Responses

“Oversight is imminent,” declared a federal official, acting assistant secretary of the ACF office, in a statement. “Government money will not be used to poison the minds of the youth or advance harmful political doctrines.”

Several jurisdictions and territories stated they would eliminate the content 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 two territories.

Two other states, Alabama and South Dakota, reported their educational programs never included the language referenced in the government's notices.

Effects on Adolescents and Mental Health

Collectively, these jurisdictions are home to more than 120k transgender individuals aged 13 to 17, according to estimates from a university department.

“If our goal is to support youth and give them a secure environment, I’m not sure why we are targeting the at-risk teenagers in the population,” said Cindi Huss, who heads Rise that offers health instruction in Tennessee.

“When the government says that there’s something wrong with 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.”

Almost 50% of trans and non-binary youth seriously considered suicide in the past year, according to a recent study from a mental health organization. School support for these youths is associated with reduced numbers of attempted suicide, the organization found.

Earlier Incidents and Ongoing Disputes

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

When the jurisdiction declined, the government withdrew its Prep grant, eliminating approximately $12m in government money and stopping health initiatives in schools, juvenile detention facilities and care facilities.

The state agency is challenging the withdrawal. To date, it has been unable to replace the withdrawn money.

The Trump administration has also informed instructors who obtain funding from two other federal sex education initiatives, the $50 million Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) and the $101 million TPPP initiative, that they cannot teach about “gender ideology.”

An recent judicial ruling blocked the administration from altering TPPP, while the Monday court order prohibits it from changing SRAE in the Democratic states that sued over Prep.

The ACF office did not immediately respond to a inquiry.