WA legislators scale back ‘free school meals for all’ proposal
After a year of federally-funded free school meals for all students, Congress allowed the program to expire. Now, Washington lawmakers are considering legislation to pick up part of the tab — expanding free meals for elementary school kids in the lowest-income schools.
During the pandemic, Congress extended free meals to all students, regardless of family income, as part of Covid-19 assistance. The extension came from a USDA school food program that was originally meant to provide no-cost meals to kids during the summer. The meals were provided whether kids showed up in person to eat or had parents pick up meals while classes were remote. In September 2022, Congress allowed the extension to expire.
Starting this school year, families and administrators are back to the pre-pandemic system in which they must apply for free or reduced-price meals and navigate a patchwork of programs.
See if your family qualifies for free or reduced-price meals with Teo Times eligibility calculator.According to Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, roughly half of Washington’s 1.1 million students already attend schools that qualify for free meals through other programs. But that still leaves roughly 330,000 Washington students who are not eligible for any meal assistance programs.
An Overview
Washington's school meals program
School districts are now required to implement a breakfast program in any public school with at least 70% or more students eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
State lawmakers pass legislation requiring all preschools and elementary schools that are eligible for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a federal free meals program, to participate.
Congress re-authorizes a temporary waiver allowing for universal free school lunches. (This program is separate from CEP.)
State lawmakers pass legislation requiring all schools eligible for CEP to participate. Congress does not reauthorize waivers for universal free school lunches.
State lawmakers advance legislation that would expand CEP to more elementary school students.
In September, Reykdal called on lawmakers to fund a universal free lunch program to feed all students regardless of their families’ income. State Sen. T’wina Nobles (D-Fircest) and Rep. Marcus Riccelli (D-Spokane) introduced the ‘Washington Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act’ shortly thereafter.
The bill would have covered meals for the 330,000 students who don’t qualify for existing programs at a cost of $86 million in its first year. The bill also sought to classify school meals as a part of basic education, making the state constitutionally obligated to provide funding for school meals.
Courtesy of Beth Egan, Issaquah School District communications specialist
The bill has since been scaled back by lawmakers, citing budgetary concerns. The amended bill provides free meals for elementary school kids where at least 30% of families meet federal income requirements. The new proposal would cost about $16 million a year and no longer classifies meals as a part of basic education.
If passed, it would expand free meals to an additional 90,000 elementary school students by 2024.
For families with young children that entered school during the pandemic, it will be the first time they have to navigate application forms and eligibility criteria.
To get free school meals, a family of four can’t make more than about $36,000 a year in this school year. To get reduced-price meals, a family of four can’t make more than about $51,000.
Your family may qualify for free meals.
Learn more about state and federal programs on the Office of the Superintendent of Public Schools website.
Your family may qualify for reduced-price meals.
Learn more about state and federal programs on the Office of the Superintendent of Public Schools website.
Unfortunately, your family
may not qualify for free and/or reduced-price meals.
Learn more about state and federal programs on the Office of the Superintendent of Public Schools website.
If the ‘Washington Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act’ passes the state legislature in its current form, it would provide free meals for elementary school students where at least 30% of families meet federal income requirements. It would expand free meals to an additional 90,000 elementary school students by 2024.
The federal government, in addition to taking into account the individual income thresholds, will also provide funding for school meals to entire schools, or school districts, if enough families receive Medicaid, food stamps, or similar federal safety net programs. (This is considered being ‘directly certified.’)
The most popular of these programs is the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). CEP allows schools where at least 40% of students are ‘directly certified’ to offer free meals to all students, regardless of need. When 62.5% or more of the student body is ‘directly certified,’ the federal government pays for the full cost of all meals. But schools that have between 40% and 62.5% of their students ‘directly certified,’ still have to pay for a portion of the meals they serve.
Last year, Washington lawmakers directed all eligible schools to participate in the CEP program and provided state funding to schools to cover any additional costs not covered by the federal government. Schools operating the program no longer have to track which students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and students no longer garner lunch debt.
The ‘Washington Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act,’ must pass a full floor vote in the Senate in order to become law. If passed, Washington would join California, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Nevada in expanding free meal programs this school year.
Credits
- Reporter:Florence Nightingale
- Photographer:Charles Joseph Minard
- Project Editor:Joseph Priestley
- Graphic Editor:Teodora Popescu
- Engagement:John Snow
- Contributing Authors:
Hanah Anderson, Matt Daniels - Copy Editor:Denise Lu