The USDA and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried threatened to deny funding for school lunches to Grant Park Christian Academy in Tampa over the school’s refusal to conform to the Biden administration’s radical, gender-identity agenda.
ADF sued on behalf of the school forcing the USDA to respect exemptions to Title IX. The act reads in part – exemptions are allowed “on religious grounds if there is a conflict between Title IX and a school’s governing religious tenets.”
ADF legal counsel Erica Steinmiller-Perdomo said, “We are pleased to see the administration grant not only that Christian school’s request, but rightly honor the religious beliefs of every other religious school in the country by allowing them to continue operating according to the core tenets of their faith.”
She added, “While it shouldn’t have taken a federal lawsuit, at least now, all religious schools like Grant Park Christian Academy who rely on the USDA’s funding to serve nutritious meals to kids in need can continue this vital service in their communities.”
Absent the USDA exemption, Grant Park Christian Academy would have been denied funding to serve school day meals to its 56 students due to the school’s religious beliefs, which prevent the school from substituting gender identity for biological sex in any aspect of its programs or facilities.