Blue state officials agree to pay thousands after church bans preschool lunch program over gender beliefs

California state officials agreed to a settlement with Compassion Church and Dayspring Christian Learning Center on Tuesday for nearly $200,000 after trying to exclude the church from the state's preschool lunch program.

The church and the center, together with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), archived a lawsuit in June of last year alleging that officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Human Services barred them from participating in the “Child and Adult Nutrition Assistance Program” in because of their religious beliefs about gender and sex. ADF and state officials entered into an agreement agreement this week required the defendants to pay $30,000 for out-of-pocket meals in the absence of state funding and $160,000 for attorney fees.

“In the name of anti-discrimination, government officials excluded the church and preschool from serving the El Cajon community based solely on their religious beliefs and exercise,” he said. Jeremiah Galus, ADF Senior Counsel. Press release. “Although it should not have taken a lawsuit to resolve this, at least now the Church of Compassion can continue its vital outreach to children and families in need.”

The center had been part of the USDA program for nearly two decades when the department changed its rules in 2021 requiring all participants to commit to not discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. In May 2023, the department too required state directors of USDA's food and nutrition services programs to prohibit “discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.”

Church of Compassion and Dayspring Christian Learning Center did not meet these new requirements for the 2022-2023 school year because of their beliefs about “human sexuality” and their refusal to “use the 'preferred' pronouns of any child or employee that do not correspond to the biological. sex”, seconds to the lawsuit ADF argued that department and state officials deliberately discriminated against the church and learning center because of their faith in violation of the First Amendment.

“The government cannot withhold food from needy families just because their children attend a Christian preschool. The Constitution protects the right of Compassion Church and its preschool to operate according to the dictates of its faith,” Galus said in the press release.

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