Biden administration exempts religious schools from LGBTQ mandate on school lunch funding

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently reversed a policy that would have required religious schools that participate in a federal free lunch program to adhere to the Biden administration’s LGBTQ mandates.

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The department published a memo saying that there is an exception for religious schools "if there is a conflict between Title IX and the school's governing religious tenets."

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Back in May, the USDA announced that it would change how it interprets the prohibition on discrimination based on sex found in Title IX “to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

For schools, this meant that they would have to adopt a range of controversial policies in things like sports, housing, locker rooms, and bathrooms to receive any kind of federal funding, including federally subsidized school lunch funding.

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On Aug. 12 though, the department published a memo saying that although the rule applies to most public and private schools across the country, there is an exception for religious schools "if there is a conflict between Title IX and the school's governing religious tenets."

The clarification came after the Alliance Defending Freedom sued the Biden administration last month on behalf of the Grant Park Christian Academy in Tampa, Florida, alleging that the USDA guidance required the school to “violate its religious beliefs or stop providing lunches to children.”

Grant Park Christian Academy was granted an exemption by the state’s agricultural department, restoring the funds for its school lunch program. As a result, the exception was extended to religious schools nationwide.

Erica Steinmiller-Perdomo, legal counsel at ADF, stated that:

“After ADF’s lawsuit, USDA made clear that they will automatically respect religious exemptions under Title IX for religious schools—for now...”

According to the memo, Title IX regulations “do not require a religious educational institution to submit a written request for a Title IX exemption in order to claim that exemption.” And schools wishing to receive “assurance” of their religious exemptions can submit a written request to the USDA’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights.

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