Washington voters may pass into law a bill that would allow all students in Washington to receive free breakfast and lunch at school starting this fall. Democratic State Representative Marcus Riccelli of Spokane introduced House Bill 1238 which would provide meals to all requesting students without charge.
In Washington, the House Committee on Education has advanced HB 1238, which would offer all 1.1 million public school students free breakfast and lunch. The bill has been referred to the Appropriations Committee. After the House Appropriations Committee, it can head to the floor for a vote.
The state constitution says providing basic education to all students is a primary duty of the Legislature. HB 1238 would include free meals for all in the legal definition of basic education.
HB 1238 states: Starting the 2023-2024 school year, each school district, charter school, and state-tribal compact school would be required to provide one breakfast and one lunch during each school day to any student who requests a meal, at no cost, during the school year without consideration of the student’s eligibility for a federally funded free or reduced-price meal. The meals must be nutritiously adequate and qualify for federal reimbursement.
This bill attaches a $90 million dollar per year price tag. The state would still receive federal money to pay for meals for qualifying students, but the state would pay the remaining funding. At present, of the 1.1 million students in Washington around 700,000 now qualify for free meals through different programs.
