The Alliance for Defending Freedom is celebrating after successfully appealing to the US government to reinstate school lunch funding in religious schools.

The funding was initially set to be withdrawn from Grant Park Christian Academy in Tampa after they applied for an exemption to Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972.

A new change to Title IX meant all participating schools had to agree to Biden administration’s expansion of “sex” to include sexual orientation and gender identity in all school operations, including restrooms, dress codes, hiring, and pronouns, or lose funding from the USDA, thus losing access to the National School Lunch Program.

Some religious schools were unhappy with the changes, saying that the plans go against the traditional Christian interpretation of biological sex.

Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Erica Steinmiller-Perdomo said: “On behalf of the students at Grant Park Christian Academy in Tampa we filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration 16 days ago, and in that time, we are pleased to see the administration grant not only that Christian school’s request, but rightly honour 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.

“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.”