A taxpayer-funded program aimed to lower birth rates and sexually transmitted infection rates in rural Maryland counties faces uncertainty amid a federal review by the Trump administration because of its inclusion of gender identity lessons.

The Maryland Department of Health received about $7 million in taxpayer dollars since 2020 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the True You program, a health education program used in six counties: Allegany, Washington, Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester.

The program is set to continue through 2028, according to federal funding documents obtained in a public information request. However, an HHS spokesperson said the agency is conducting a review of its taxpayer funded programs.

“HHS is currently reviewing the documents received from grant recipients to assess compliance with the law and the president’s executive orders,” the spokesperson said.

The review could jeopardize the program, as President Donald Trump has signed a series of executive orders this year challenging the promotion of different gender identities. These included orders declaring only two genders, ending federal government promotion of gender transitions and defunding local school districts that promote “gender ideology.”

Training videos for the True You program obtained by Spotlight on Maryland through a public information request revealed a direction for teachers to adopt the Positive Prevention Plus sex education curriculum, which includes lessons on different gender identities. Teachers who participated were instructed to use gender-neutral language for sex education lessons, such as saying “people with vaginas” instead of “women.”

A True You training in 2023, titled “Tossing Out the Binary,” was provided by Planned Parenthood to teachers and revealed an emphasis on different gender identities.

“Some women might have a penis and testicles,” Vanessa Geffrard, the vice president of education and outreach at Planned Parenthood Maryland, said in the video obtained in a public information request. “Rather than being like ‘this is women’s anatomy,’ or ‘this is men’s anatomy,’ we want to stick to ‘people with vaginas, people with uteruses.’ We want to identify the body part.”

A spokesman for MDH said the agency has “not received any update” on the federal funding of True You. He emphasized that teachers were not required to participate in the training videos.

Another training, titled “More Than Pronouns: Creating Affirming Spaces During Positive Prevention Plus,” instructed teachers not to use terms like “boy” or “girl” when teaching sex education.

“Phrases like ‘people with penises’ and ‘people with vulvas’ are appropriate when discussing anatomy,” Alicia Miller, a community health educator for the Wicomico County Health Department, said in the training video.

Miller and Geffrard’s trainings included a suggestion for teachers to use the “Gender Unicorn” to explain different gender identities to children.

The True You website, hosted by the Health Teen Network, published a list of the program partners that was deleted after a Spotlight on Maryland report on the program in December. Previously listed partners included the public school districts in each of the six participating counties in Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore.

MDH did not respond to a question about who participates in True You.

Several school districts confirmed participation in True You but distanced themselves from the teacher trainings on sex education in statements to Spotlight on Maryland.

Spotlight on Maryland is a joint venture by FOX45 News and The Baltimore Sun. Have a news tip? Contact Patrick Hauf at pjhauf@sbgtv.com. Follow him on X @PatrickHauf.