Government Only Giving Free School Meal Funds To Those Who Support Transgender Bathroom Access?
Biden may be reinstating the federal lunch money program, but might withhold funds from schools that don't support LGBTQ students.
What do gender identity politics and free school meals have in common? Apparently, it’s a government tie linking the two together, according to some. The federal act that made school lunches free for all students in America a reality for the past few years is set to expire soon. However, one report claims the Biden Administration is likely reinstating it, but with a dreadful caveat: The federal lunch money will be withheld from schools that do not allow transgender students to have facility access to that with which they identify.
The new report comes from The Federalist, a conservative news outlet. They are saying that a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education spoke with them, announcing that Biden’s administration will make this big, controversial announcement in an upcoming press release followed by a formal rulemaking late in June. Similarly, the news site states that they have proof that the government will withhold federal lunch money funding from schools that don’t allow transgenders access to the bathroom of their choosing. However, it should be noted that the link to their source leads to a broken government link.
Despite the unclear notion of whether or not this rumor is true, it will have detrimental consequences on America’s youth if enacted. When President Trump first enacted the Federal lunch money act during the onset of the pandemic, it kept millions of children across the nation from going without meals as schools shut down. It fed an additional 10 million students and was proven to significantly curb child hunger crises throughout the pandemic.
If the intent of Biden’s administration’s proviso is to scare schools into supporting more LGBTQ efforts, it’s not just school officials and leaders that this measure could hurt, but more so the children. Speaking of the federal lunch money demands with John Elcesser, the executive director of the Indiana Non-Public Education Association, Elcesser made note of who this policy would truly hurt: the children. Likewise, he noted how nearly impossible it would be for schools to file for an exemption from this ruling.
Under this new ruling, it appears that religious institutions could qualify for waivers exempting them from this gender politics, according to Greg Baylor from the Alliance Defending Freedom. Title IX law states that religious institutions need not file any paperwork to become exempt. However, the government is trying to make this unclear and confusing to many wishing to apply for the federal lunch money program.
To make point of this, The Federalist pointed to the activities group, The Human Rights Campaign. They have made it difficult for groups seeking these federal lunch money exemptions to do so, as they oust them after request. Likewise, they claim that USDA officials are conveying to schools that they must fill out paperwork to apply for an exemption. This is all moot for public schools, however, that is separated from religion.
All of this information remains hearsay for now until the federal government makes any formal announcement. If true, the new rulings for federal lunch money could further displace millions of young children that rely on school meals as their only source of nutrition. Hopefully, the Biden Administration does not impose more political agendas that only would harm young students.
