OSPI to ask for free school meals for all students

State Superintendent Chris Reykdal is proposing to provide school meals at no cost to all Washington students.

Under a proposal announced this week by Reykdal, all of Washington’s 1.1 million students would receive school meals at no charge as part of their basic education.

“When students are hungry, their ability to learn and engage in school is impacted,” said State Superintendent Chris Reykdal. “Quality nutrition is a key component of student success and access to meals is an important part of being at school. We have to stop expecting families to foot the bill for resources and supports that are a normal part of the school day.”

OSPI announced that they will submit a proposal to the Governor and Legislature for consideration. 

During the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, waivers from the federal government allowed all students to eat free of charge. 

Starting this school year, though, those waivers go away, and 330,000 students and their families will once again be required to pay for meals or submit meal applications to determine eligibility for free or reduced-price meals.

Federal requirements govern student eligibility for discounted meals. Under current requirements, a family of four with a household income of $51,338 per year would pay around $2,330 per year for their children to have healthy breakfast and lunch provided at school. 

With universal school meals, all students would eat without fees, regardless of family income status.

In 2022, the Legislature required all eligible schools to participate in the federal government’s Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program that provides meals without fees to all students in schools with large percentages of students experiencing poverty.

The majority of local schools participate:

Several states have moved to a universal meals model, including California, Vermont, and Massachusetts. 

The proposal to provide students with universal access to school meals is the fourth in a series of budget and policy proposals from Superintendent Reykdal called Washington State Innovates: K–12 Education for the 21st Century and Beyond.

If funded, all Washington students will have access to the universal school meals by the beginning of the 2023–24 school year.