Oklahoma legislators react to OSDE's school meal funding mandate with cautious optimism
Oklahoma legislators react to OSDE's school meal funding mandate with cautious optimism (SBG File){p}{/p}
OKLAHOMA CITY, (KOKH) — Oklahoma legislators have responded to the new OSDE mandate funding for student meals.
During the 2025-2026 school year, school districts will be required to fully fund student meals using existing state and federal funds.
Rep. Annie Menz, D-Norman, released the following statement:
I was stunned and thrilled when I read about Superintendent Walters' most recent mandate regarding free school lunches. I have filed and cosponsored legislation, cohosted bipartisan interim studies, published op-eds and held countless meetings all toward the goal of expanding the free lunch program in our schools, and I am glad someone in statewide leadership is finally listening to me. Hungry kids can't learn, and every child deserves access to healthy nutritious meals. I hope that going forward, Mr. Walters will be more collaborative with the legislature, to determine lasting budget solutions to make this program work for our kids.
Rep. Ellen Pogemiller, D-Oklahoma City, released the following statement:
The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) allows schools to use federal funds to offer no-cost meals to students. Schools qualify if just 25% of students meet the threshold, making it an efficient way to increase access and improve nutrition for all students. As of the end of 2024, 267 districts and 849 schools in Oklahoma were participating in CEP. Yet the deadline to apply for CEP was June 30—meaning this new potential mandate arrived too late for districts to adjust their plans, and our state won’t have the chance to prioritize this in the budget until next year. Happy to work towards this goal, but the reality is that Walters' approach is an unfunded mandate.
Rep. John Waldron, D-Tulsa, released the following statement:
School lunch programs are proven to boost learning, improve test scores and promote healthy bodies. House Democrats have worked on this issue for a long time, and we're glad to see OSDE taking this stand. In my district, Tulsa Public Schools already provides free lunches to all. We hope there will be an opportunity to work on this collaboratively, without disruption to local school finances so that every child has a chance to succeed.
The organization, Hunger Free Oklahoma, has also released the following statement in response to Superintendent Ryan Walters' mandate:
Today, Ryan Walters put out an email to Oklahoma parents informing them that every child in Oklahoma should have access to no-cost school meals (OSDE release). While we share the end goal, we do not agree it can be achieved by this proposed approach. Hunger Free Oklahoma has taken consistent action in pursuit of universal school meals, including work on legislation in the most recent legislative sessions. We proposed universal meals by leveraging existing federal programs, adding additional state funds for districts that could not feed every child without additional state funds, and partnering with local food growers and producers, because we know that no-cost meals help students succeed and reduce barriers for families.
Our Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) report, released in June, shows that Oklahoma schools have made major progress in leveraging federal resources. With the inclusion of SoonerCare (Medicaid) data in CEP eligibility calculations, participation has more than doubled—from 382 schools last year to 849 this year—resulting in nearly 300,000 students gaining access to no-cost breakfast and lunch. This is an example of what is possible when state policy and investment align with federal opportunity.
The reality is that eligibility for programs like CEP is not the same as feasibility and for many schools the gap between the cost of food service and the reimbursement for universal school meals is not workable without additional investment from the state. You can read our full analysis and recommendations about universal meals in the CEP report here.
Put simply, ensuring every child has access to no cost meals every school day and throughout the summer is a goal we should all share and that we can achieve, but it will take additional investment from our state and leveraging every federal dollar available to make it happen.
Hunger Free Oklahoma remains committed to working with all partners to ensure that no child in our state has to learn while distracted by hunger.
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