Trump demanded trans issues be excluded from sex education. 11 states complied

“Trump Demanded Trans Issues Be Excluded from Sex Education. 11 States Complied”

In a sweeping move that has ignited legal and political backlash, the Trump administration recently mandated that all references to gender identity and the existence of transgender and non-binary individuals be removed from a federally funded sex education program known as the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP).

This $75 million initiative, originally designed to educate adolescents on healthy relationships, pregnancy prevention, and sexually transmitted infections, has become the latest battleground in the administration’s broader campaign against what it terms “gender ideology.”

The directive, issued through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its sub-agency, the Administration for Children and Families, required states and territories receiving PREP funding to submit their curricula for a “medical accuracy review.”

Following this review, the administration claimed to have found content that allegedly fell outside the scope of PREP’s authorizing statute, specifically, materials that acknowledged the existence of transgender and non-binary people or promoted inclusivity based on gender identity.

States were given a deadline to comply or risk losing their federal funding. At least 11 states, Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wyoming, along with two U.S. territories, the Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands, confirmed that they had either already removed the contested references or would do so to maintain their funding. Two additional states, Alabama and South Dakota, stated that their curricula never included such references in the first place.

The administration’s letters to states cited specific examples of content deemed unacceptable. These included a North Carolina middle school lesson stating, “People of all sexual orientations and gender identities need to know how to prevent pregnancy and STDs,” and a curriculum in Illinois that acknowledged young people may express themselves in ways that don’t conform with their biological sex.

The administration also objected to guidance encouraging educators to “demonstrate acceptance and respect for all participants, regardless of personal characteristics, including race, cultural background, religion, social class, sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Andrew Gradison, acting assistant secretary of the Administration for Children and Families, defended the move by stating that federal funds would not be used to “poison the minds of the next generation or advance dangerous ideological agendas.”

However, the directive has not gone unchallenged. Sixteen states and Washington, D.C., all led by Democratic governors, have filed a lawsuit against the administration, arguing that the new conditions imposed on PREP funding overstep executive authority and violate congressional intent.

A federal judge in Oregon issued a temporary injunction blocking the administration from cutting off funding to these states, criticizing HHS for failing to provide a reasonable explanation or evidence to justify its actions.

The implications of this policy shift are significant. According to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, the states complying with the administration’s demands are home to over 120,000 transgender youth aged 13 to 17.

Advocates warn that removing affirming content from sex education curricula could have dire consequences for the mental health and safety of these young people. Cindi Huss, who leads a Tennessee-based sex education organization called Rise, expressed concern that the policy sends a harmful message to vulnerable youth, particularly those who may not feel safe being open about their identities.

The controversy echoes a similar clash earlier in the year when the Trump administration revoked California’s PREP funding after the state refused to eliminate references to gender identity.

That decision halted sex education programs across a wide range of settings, including schools, juvenile detention centers, and foster care group homes. California is currently appealing the funding termination but has yet to secure replacement funding.

The administration has extended its stance to other federal sex education initiatives as well, including the $50 million Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) and the $101 million Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP).

While a court order in early October blocked changes to TPPP, the recent injunction also prevents alterations to SRAE in the Democratic-led states that joined the PREP lawsuit.

This development marks a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape federal education policy along ideological lines, with potentially lasting effects on how sex education is taught across the United States.