The Biden administration will require schools that receive federal funding for lunches to enforce its ban on discrimination on the basis of gender identity and let biological males into girls’ bathrooms.
All state and local agencies that receive Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) funding, including schools, will have to update their non-discrimination policies to include protections for gender identity and must investigate any allegations of discrimination on the basis of gender identity, according to a May 5 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announcement. Obama-era guidance interpreting Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to prohibit gender-identity discrimination stated that transgender students must be allowed to use the restroom, locker room and shower facility that matches their gender identity.
“Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA and FNS are issuing this interpretation to help ensure its programs are open, accessible and help promote food and nutrition security, regardless of demographics,” the announcement read.
FNS funding supports food security programs for the poor such as federally subsidized school lunches and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program, also known as food stamps.
The USDA is interpreting the ban on sex-based discrimination in Title IX of the Education Amendments to include gender identity rather than just biological sex, according to the USDA announcement. The move is in line with Biden’s executive order banning discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
USDA celebrates the achievements and contributions of transgender and gender non-conforming people everywhere. We’re committed to the values of equity and inclusion rooted in justice and equal opportunity for our employees and those we serve. #TransDayOfVisibility pic.twitter.com/0INZFPCBlB
— Dept. of Agriculture (@USDA) March 31, 2022
The move is part of a broader push from the Biden administration to promote transgender rights and gender ideology through guidance to federal bureaucracies and reinterpretation of civil rights laws. (RELATED: POLL: Americans Overwhelmingly Reject Biden’s Stance On Sex Changes For Kids)
“Whether you are grocery shopping, standing in line at the school cafeteria, or picking up food from a food bank, you should be able to do so without fear of discrimination,” said Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Deputy Under Secretary Stacy Dean, according to the announcement. “No one should be denied access to nutritious food simply because of who they are or how they identify.”
The USDA and the White House did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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