How Many Students Would Lose Access to Free Meals under House Republicans' Proposed Changes to the Community Eligibility Provision? An Essay for the Learning Curve

Abstract

Congressional Republicans are reportedly considering spending cuts to balance the cost of extending the tax cuts they enacted in 2017. One proposal is to raise the eligibility threshold for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which lets schools provide federally reimbursed free meals to all students. This change would cut the number of schools participating in the program by at least 21,000 and end universal free meals in schools serving 11.4 million students. The budgetary savings from reducing access to universal free meals will need to be weighed against evidence about the benefits of universal free meal programs for students, including higher student achievement and reduced discipline. CEP also reduces the burden of collecting meal application forms and guarantees that eligible students have access to free meals even if their school does not identify them as low income.