Oklahoma schools ordered to fund free student meals with no new funding

The Oklahoma State Department of Education has mandated that every school district in the state must fund free meals for all students this upcoming school year. However, no additional funding will be provided. Districts must rely on existing state and federal resources.

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Superintendent Ryan Walters says Oklahoma families paid $42 million out-of-pocket for school meals last year.

“These new guidelines will force districts to cut the fat, redirect funds to where they belong—our kids—and ensure no family is left footing the bill for mismanaged meals,” Walters said.

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He added that school administrators recently received a 14% pay raise and claimed that many districts are overstaffed at the administrative level.

As for how districts are expected to cover the cost of this mandate, or whether it will be enforced, News 9 is reaching out to school officials across the state.

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The first group to publicly oppose the plan is Hunger Free Oklahoma. While the nonprofit says it supports the Superintendent’s goal, it argues the current plan is not practical.

“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,” the organization said in a statement.

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Oklahoma City Public Schools has released the following statement:

Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS) will continue providing free meals to all students, as we have for nearly a decade through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). Our team is committed to serving freshly prepared, USDA-compliant meals each day. We’re excited to welcome our students back next month and to introduce some new menu items along with returning student favorites!

Nonprofit Hunger Free Oklahoma, which is an organization aiming to improve food access for all Oklahomans, released the following statement regarding the OSDE's 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.

In a statement, Norman Public Schools said,

Norman Public Schools has not received any formal guidance from the Oklahoma State Department of Education regarding the recent statements by Superintendent Walters about school meal requirements.

There is currently no state law requiring districts to provide free meals to all students, nor have we seen any official rules or directives. While we are monitoring the situation, there is nothing at this time that requires action or causes concern. We are focused on facts, not headlines.

We remain committed to meeting the needs of our students. That includes taking advantage of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which allows us to provide free meals to more students. Like many districts, we would welcome greater flexibility in how child nutrition funds can be used. If restrictions were lifted, we could better serve families by covering more meal costs.

We are reviewing our data and will continue to be prepared should anything change. But until we receive actual guidance, not just public statements, we will not shift resources away from our day-to-day work. The sky is not falling, and we are not panicking. We are staying focused on students and ready to respond if needed.