Attorney General James Takes Action to Protect Health Education Programs

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today joined a coalition of 15 other attorneys general in suing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for illegally requiring states to change sexual education programs to erase references to gender identity and transgender status. The administration has threatened to withhold tens of millions of dollars from two grant programs, the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) and Title V Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE), unless states agree to censor their curricula and programming. In a lawsuit filed today in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, Attorney General James and the coalition argue that the administration’s requirements are illegal and will undermine effective sexual education programs, increasing the risks of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), particularly among the most vulnerable young people. Attorney General James and the coalition are asking the court to order the administration to halt its illegal conditions on these grant funds.

“Comprehensive sex education programs can save lives and help teens navigate the challenges of young adulthood,” said Attorney General James. “These new restrictions threaten to undermine effective and educational health programs that help reduce teen pregnancy and dangerous sexually transmitted infections. I will not allow this administration to put young people at risk by prioritizing politics over providing accurate and important health information.”

Established in 1996, SRAE grants allow states to provide critical sexual health education programs that teach about teen pregnancy and the avoidance of STIs. PREP was established under the Affordable Care Act and is one of the largest federally funded programs designed to address teen pregnancy and STIs. Both programs are highly effective. After participating in PREP, students report being more likely to abstain from sex, more likely to use contraception if they plan to have sex, and more likely to resist or say no to pressure to have sex. Most youth reported positive perceptions of PREP programs, with 88 percent reporting that they felt respected as people during the program.

States that lose their federal PREP and SRAE funding would be forced to lay off sexual health education professionals and shutter sexual health education programs. As Attorney General James and the coalition argue, this would be dangerous for young people throughout the country. People aged 15 to 24 already represent half of new STI infections, despite representing only a quarter of the sexually active population. Teen mothers are more likely than other teenagers to be socially isolated, confront mental health issues, and have fewer educational and employment opportunities. LGBTQ youth, who are already at higher risk for sexual assault, teen pregnancy, STIs, and mental health challenges, would be especially hurt by a lack of effective sexual education programs.

In August 2025, HHS changed the conditions for awarding PREP and SRAE funds to prohibit using grant funds for any programs that provide information about or acknowledge the existence of transgender, intersex, or nonbinary people. These new conditions were based on the Trump administration’s false and medically inaccurate policy recognizing “only two sexes, male and female,” and treating sex and gender as unchangeable. 

HHS has demanded that states censor curricula that have been in use for years and that have been effective in reducing risky behaviors and improving health outcomes for young people. HHS warned states that failure to comply would result in the loss of grant funds. States were faced with an impossible choice between losing essential funding or modifying their curricula with incorrect information, in violation of laws that require sexual education programs to provide medically accurate and complete information. Either choice would harm the very youth and public health goals these programs are designed to protect.

Attorney General James and the coalition argue that the new restrictions on PREP and SRAE funds are illegal and unconstitutional. The laws that govern PREP and SRAE, in addition to HHS rules, prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex and gender identity, yet the administration’s new restrictions would force states to discriminate by requiring the erasure of any mention of gender identity in curriculum materials. The new PREP and SRAE restrictions also violate the Constitution’s Spending and Separation of Powers clauses by usurping Congress’s authority to direct spending. Attorney General James and the coalition are requesting a court order preventing the administration from implementing its restrictions on PREP and SRAE funds.

Joining Attorney General James in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.