In a notable retreat, the Biden administration and an allied Florida agriculture commissioner have backed off in their arm-twisting to force acceptance of sexual perversion in religious schools, reports Christian Headlines.
The reversal will not affect public schools.
Saying that 1972’s Title IX anti-discrimination law prohibits “discrimination” against people who don’t want to be their own gender, the administration and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services were trying to prohibit schools from participating in the National School Lunch Program for low-income students if those schools didn’t allow transgender people and homosexuals to claim special rights.
Grant Park Christian Academy in Tampa is one of those schools, but instead of knuckling under they filed suit, aided by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). The school, which provides 56 low-income students receive free lunches through the program, said the policy violates the school’s free speech and religious liberty rights under the U.S. Constitution.
In a motion with a U.S. district court, the Biden administration and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried agreed an Aug. 5 to give the school a religious exemption under Title IX.
“These developments will permit Grant Park Christian Academy to serve lunches to its student body on the first day,” the motion said.
The school sets out its constitutionally protected beliefs in its ministry statement, declaring that the word “marriage” has only “one legitimate meaning, and that is marriage sanctioned by God, which joins one man and one woman.”
ADF legal counsel Erica Steinmiller-Perdomo stated: “It shouldn’t have taken a lawsuit to get the government to respect religious freedom … Grant Park Christian Academy treats every child with dignity and respect and never turns away a hungry child. Now, provided the government follows through and approves Grant Park Christian Academy’s application and confirms its exemption, this private school can continue feeding dozens of children healthy meals every day. We will defend other public and private schools across the country who remain under the burden of this unlawful mandate that violates religious beliefs.”
