Trump Administration Insists Removal of Transgender Issues from Sex Education Curricula, Several Jurisdictions Agree

No fewer than 11 states and a pair of regions have agreed to a new demand from the Trump administration to remove mentions of transgender issues and the presence of transgender and non-binary individuals from a federal sexual health program, authorities stated.

The administration established a recent cutoff for removing these mentions, threatening the withdrawal of substantial government funding. Nearly all of the complying states have GOP-led state legislatures and mostly GOP state leaders.

Legal Challenges and Financial Disputes

Sixteen other states and the nation's capital have initiated legal action against the administration's demand, arguing it infringes on legislative power, which created the $75 million sex education program, known as the Personal Responsibility Education Program (Prep).

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

In a late Monday judicial ruling, a federal judge prevented the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which manages the program, from withholding funding to the Democratic states if they do not adhere.

“The agency does not demonstrate that the new grant conditions are reasonable, nor does it offer any valid reason, other than an excuse, for its actions,” stated Ann Aiken, a U.S. district judge in the state. “The department offers no proof that it made informed determinations or took into account the statutory objectives.”

Program Goals and Federal Review

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

In April, the Trump administration demanded all jurisdictions receiving Prep funds to submit a version of their educational materials to HHS and its agency, the ACF office, for a “medical accuracy review”.

By late summer, the government sent letters to numerous jurisdictions, informing them that, during the evaluation, it had discovered “content in the educational programs that fall outside the purview of Prep’s authorizing statute.”

In particular, the administration claimed it had identified evidence of “gender-related concepts,” a phrase often used by rightwing groups to refer to the notion that identity is a fluid social construct and that trans and non-binary people exist.

Notable Cases of Required Alterations

The government directed Illinois to drop a lesson that stated: “Young people may express themselves in ways that don’t conform with their biological sex.”

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

Moreover, sex educators in many jurisdictions could no longer be told to “demonstrate acceptance and respect for all students, irrespective of personal characteristics, including ethnicity, cultural background, religion, social class, sexual orientation or identity,” according to the letters sent to jurisdictions.

Government Comments and Jurisdictional Reactions

“Accountability is coming,” said Andrew Gradison, interim leader of the Administration for Children and Families, in a announcement. “Federal funds will not be used to poison the minds of the youth or promote harmful political doctrines.”

Several jurisdictions and territories stated they would eliminate the references or had completed the process. These include Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming, as well as the two territories.

Two other states, the states, reported their educational programs never contained the terminology referenced in the government's notices.

Effects on Adolescents and Mental Health

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

“If our goal is to support youth and give them a secure environment, I’m not sure why we are stomping on the most vulnerable youth in the community,” commented an advocate, who leads Rise that provides sex education in Tennessee.

“When the government says that there’s something incorrect about you and the teachers aren’t allowed to tell you things or they have to disclose your identity to family – when you know that that’s not secure – that’s horrible for mental health.”

Almost 50% of transgender adolescents contemplated self-harm in the past year, based on a recent study from a mental health organization. School support for these adolescents is associated with lower rates of self-harm attempts, the group discovered.

Previous Actions and Ongoing Disputes

Earlier this year, the Trump administration instructed a state to remove references to gender identity from its educational program.

When the jurisdiction declined, the administration revoked its Prep grant, eliminating about $12 million in federal funding and stopping sex education programs in educational institutions, youth centers and group homes for foster children.

The state agency is appealing the withdrawal. So far, it has been unsuccessful in replace the lost funding.

The Trump administration has additionally informed instructors who receive money from additional national programs, the $50m Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) and the $101m TPPP initiative, that they cannot teach about “gender-related concepts.”

An early October court order blocked the administration from altering one program, while the latest ruling stops it from modifying SRAE in the Democratic states that sued over Prep.

The ACF office did not provide a prompt reply to a inquiry.