null / Africa Studio/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 31, 2022 / 09:38 am (CNA).The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reversed a policy that would have required Catholic schools that participate in a federal free lunch program to comply with the Biden administration s LGBTQ mandates.Nevertheless, some Catholic schools, such as those of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, are choosing to drop out of the program.Earlier this year the Biden administration re-interpreted Title IX s federal ban on sex discrimination to include "sexual orientation or gender identity." Religious freedom and free speech advocates warn that the change could be used to enforce mandates on hiring, bathrooms, using preferred pronouns, and dress codes.The broadened definition also applies to the National School Lunch Program, a federally funded meal assistance program administered by the Department of Agriculture that provides subsidized or free lunches to more than 30 million public and private scho