July 14, 2025 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials have rescinded Biden-era guidelines that required schools administering federal meal programs to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, effective immediately.
“Today’s guidance eliminates the illegal threats issued under the Biden Administration that mandated compliance with ever-evolving concepts of gender ideology as a condition for participation in USDA school programs,” reads new guidance posted on July 7 for state administrators of school breakfast and lunch programs.
On X, the Congressional Equality Caucus chaired by Representative Mark Takano (D-California) posted that the change would make it easier to discriminate against LGBTQI+ people. “This is beyond cruel. No American should go hungry just because of who they are or who they love,” they wrote.
A group of Republican states and others had sued the Biden administration over the guidance several years ago, and the USDA mentioned this “litigation risk” the agency faced as a reason to roll back the guidance. The new directive also says rescinding the anti-discrimination rules will prevent “the waste of resources” involved in overseeing compliance with those rules.
At the same time, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the USDA all issued new directives around “public benefits” that will make it harder for immigrants to access workforce protection resources and meal programs.
In an email to supporters, the Food and Research Action Center (FRAC), a D.C.-based hunger policy organization, said that while neither the rollback of discrimination protections nor the new restrictions for immigrants will immediately change who is eligible for school meals or other food programs, “they could have a chilling effect on participation.” (Link to this post.)
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