By Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is threatening to sue the Biden administration over a Department of Agriculture school meal program that defines discrimination as based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
But the USDA says it is working to get voluntary compliance before referring violations to the Department of Justice.
The Republican governor earlier this year pushed the state to join more than a dozen others to ban transgender athletes from girls’ school sports leagues.
At the time, some opponents to the proposal argued that South Dakota’s law could imperil federal funding for the state’s public schools.
Noem on Thursday claimed that the USDA was poised to withhold funds for school meal programs and threatened to sue if it does.