State Rep. April Berg’s House Bill 1404 in the state Legislature would make all public school meals free for students starting in fall 2026 for any student who asks.
So far as of Feb. 11, it has been read in the House Appropriations Committee which looks at the budget.
Berg said by phone that this bill will help students focus on school more. In the possibility it passes, Berg, D-Mill Creek, believes that families will be excited.
Local school districts are in support.
Snohomish School District’s spokeswoman Kristin Foley said this bill would allow students to “focus on learning, participating, and reaching their full potential.”
Monroe School’s spokeswoman Erin Zacharda said “proper nutrition is essential for students to focus and learn effectively,” Zacharda added that this bill would guarantee that hunger does not interfere with educational advancement.
The bill would require the state to cover the cost of the meals by reimbursing school districts for the cost of meals not already paid for through federal programs for free and reduced-price lunches.
House Bill 1404 would help families that “take on meal debt — debt that often goes unpaid,” Jennifer Goodhart, an Everett Public Schools spokeswoman, said by email.
It would also create “a more equitable learning environment where no child has to worry about going hungry at school,” she added.
Federal poverty guidelines consider who get free and reduced-price meals. It does not factor in the cost of living. Some families who do not meet the meal requirements struggle to afford to live.
In 2023, Democratic State Rep. Marcus Riccelli of Spokane presented House Bill 1238, a bill to expand free lunches to students at many more qualifying schools starting this 2024-2025 school year, which passed in the Legislature.
According to the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s website, during the 2023-2024 school year 22.9% of children in the Snohomish School District received free and reduced-priced meals. In the Monroe School District, 37.6% of children received free and reduced-priced meals. In the Everett School District, 46.8%.
In Everett during the 2023-2024 school year, 202 students from 131 families did not qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, Goodhart said. These numbers are regarding the “families that applied at one of our 9-paid schools,” Goodhart said.
The nine schools were not Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools. It means that “CEP schools and students do not qualify for free and reduced lunch,” Goodhart said.
Funding for this proposed bill will be important. The Everett School District budget depends “on our participation of students and the funding model from state and federal resources,” Goodhart said.
The state Legislature determines how money is distributed. Budgeting is different for each school district. These factors include “department structure and how many students are participating in the program,” Goodhart said.
Now elected in the Senate, Spokane’s Riccelli submitted a companion bill to Berg’s bill this year, which is Senate Bill 5352. Both bills give free meals to all students.
Gov. Bob Ferguson requested the free meals bills be put forward in the Legislature.
