Free school meals

AN ACT Relating to increasing student access to free meals served 1
at public schools; amending RCW 28A.235.135, 28A.235.160, 2
28A.235.250, 28A.235.270, 28A.235.285, 28A.235.300, and 28A.405.415; 3
reenacting and amending RCW 28A.150.260; creating new sections; 4
repealing RCW 28A.235.260; and providing an effective date.5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that providing all 7
public school students with access to meals served without charge 8
each school day will support academic success and promote student 9
well-being. The legislature, in support of students, families, and 10
productive learning environments, and in recognition of financial 11
challenges that can create barriers to academic achievement, declares 12
that no student should ever experience hunger or food insecurity 13
within a public school.14
The legislature, therefore, intends to provide all requesting 15
students with access to school meals that are served without charge.16
Sec. 2. RCW 28A.150.260 and 2024 c 262 s 2 and 2024 c 191 s 2 17
are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:18
The purpose of this section is to provide for the allocation of 19
state funding that the legislature deems necessary to support school 20
Z-0329.1
HOUSE BILL 1404
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Berg, Rude, Leavitt, Stonier, Simmons, Davis,
Berry, Mena, Stearns, Thai, Walen, Rule, Ryu, Parshley, Peterson,
Reed, Paul, Gregerson, Alvarado, Reeves, Goodman, Cortes, Obras, Fey,
Salahuddin, Springer, Bernbaum, Fosse, Pollet, Street, Hill, Macri,
Timmons, and Scott; by request of Governor Ferguson
Read first time 01/20/25. Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
p. 1 HB 1404
districts in offering the minimum instructional program of basic 1
education under RCW 28A.150.220. The allocation shall be determined 2
as follows: 3
(1) The governor shall and the superintendent of public 4
instruction may recommend to the legislature a formula for the 5
distribution of a basic education instructional allocation for each 6
common school district. 7
(2)(a) The distribution formula under this section shall be for 8
allocation purposes only. Except as may be required under subsections 9
(4)(b) and (c), (5)(b) and (c), (8), and (9) of this section, chapter 10
28A.155, 28A.165, 28A.180, or 28A.185 RCW, or federal laws and 11
regulations, nothing in this section requires school districts to use 12
basic education instructional funds to implement a particular 13
instructional approach or service. Nothing in this section requires 14
school districts to maintain a particular classroom teacher-to-15
student ratio or other staff-to-student ratio or to use allocated 16
funds to pay for particular types or classifications of staff. 17
Nothing in this section entitles an individual teacher to a 18
particular teacher planning period. 19
(b) To promote transparency in state funding allocations, the 20
superintendent of public instruction must report state per-pupil 21
allocations for each school district for the general apportionment, 22
special education, learning assistance, transitional bilingual, 23
highly capable, and career and technical education programs. The 24
superintendent must report this information in a user-friendly format 25
on the main page of the office's website. School districts must 26
include a link to the superintendent's per-pupil allocations report 27
on the main page of the school district's website. In addition, the 28
budget documents published by the legislature for the enacted omnibus 29
operating appropriations act must report statewide average per-pupil 30
allocations for general apportionment and the categorical programs 31
listed in this subsection. 32
(3)(a) To the extent the technical details of the formula have 33
been adopted by the legislature and except when specifically provided 34
as a school district allocation, the distribution formula for the 35
basic education instructional allocation shall be based on minimum 36
staffing and nonstaff costs the legislature deems necessary to 37
support instruction and operations in prototypical schools serving 38
high, middle, and elementary school students as provided in this 39
section. The use of prototypical schools for the distribution formula 40
p. 2 HB 1404
does not constitute legislative intent that schools should be 1
operated or structured in a similar fashion as the prototypes. 2
Prototypical schools illustrate the level of resources needed to 3
operate a school of a particular size with particular types and grade 4
levels of students using commonly understood terms and inputs, such 5
as class size, hours of instruction, and various categories of school 6
staff. It is the intent that the funding allocations to school 7
districts be adjusted from the school prototypes based on the actual 8
number of annual average full-time equivalent students in each grade 9
level at each school in the district and not based on the grade-level 10
configuration of the school to the extent that data is available. The 11
allocations shall be further adjusted from the school prototypes with 12
minimum allocations for small schools and to reflect other factors 13
identified in the omnibus appropriations act. 14
(b) For the purposes of this section, prototypical schools are 15
defined as follows: 16
(i) A prototypical high school has 600 average annual full-time 17
equivalent students in grades nine through 12; 18
(ii) A prototypical middle school has 432 average annual full-19
time equivalent students in grades seven and eight; and20
(iii) A prototypical elementary school has 400 average annual 21
full-time equivalent students in grades kindergarten through six.22
(4)(a)(i) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical 23
school shall be based on the number of full-time equivalent classroom 24
teachers needed to provide instruction over the minimum required 25
annual instructional hours under RCW 28A.150.220 and provide at least 26
one teacher planning period per school day, and based on the 27
following general education average class size of full-time 28
equivalent students per teacher: 29
General education30
average class size31
Grades K-3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.0032
Grade 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.0033
Grades 5-6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.0034
Grades 7-8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.5335
Grades 9-12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.7436
(ii) The minimum class size allocation for each prototypical high 37
school shall also provide for enhanced funding for class size 38
reduction for two laboratory science classes within grades nine 39
p. 3 HB 1404
through 12 per full-time equivalent high school student multiplied by 1
a laboratory science course factor of 0.0833, based on the number of 2
full-time equivalent classroom teachers needed to provide instruction 3
over the minimum required annual instructional hours in RCW 4
28A.150.220, and providing at least one teacher planning period per 5
school day: 6
Laboratory science7
average class size8
Grades 9-12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.989
(b)(i) Beginning September 1, 2019, funding for average K-3 class 10
sizes in this subsection (4) may be provided only to the extent of, 11
and proportionate to, the school district's demonstrated actual class 12
size in grades K-3, up to the funded class sizes. 13
(ii) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 14
develop rules to implement this subsection (4)(b).15
(c)(i) The minimum allocation for each prototypical middle and 16
high school shall also provide for full-time equivalent classroom 17
teachers based on the following number of full-time equivalent 18
students per teacher in career and technical education:19
Career and technical20
education average21
class size22
Approved career and technical education offered at23
the middle school and high school level. . . . . . . . . . . . 23.0024
Skill center programs meeting the standards established25
by the office of the superintendent of public 26
instruction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.0027
(ii) Funding allocated under this subsection (4)(c) is subject to 28
RCW 28A.150.265. 29
(d) In addition, the omnibus appropriations act shall at a 30
minimum specify: 31
(i) A high-poverty average class size in schools where more than 32
50 percent of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price 33
meals; and 34
(ii) A specialty average class size for advanced placement and 35
international baccalaureate courses. 36
p. 4 HB 1404
(5)(a) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical 1
school shall include allocations for the following types of staff in 2
addition to classroom teachers: 3
4
5
Elementary
School
Middle
School
High
School
6
7
Principals, assistant principals, and other certificated building-level
administrators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.253

1.353

1.880
8
9
Teacher-librarians, a function that includes information literacy, technology,
and media to support school library media programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0.663

0.519

0.523
10
11
Paraeducators, including any aspect of educational instructional services
provided by classified employees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.012

0.776

0.728
12 Office support and other noninstructional aides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.088 2.401 3.345
13 Custodians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.657 1.942 2.965
14 Nurses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.585 0.888 0.824
15 Social workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.311 0.088 0.127
16 Psychologists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.104 0.024 0.049
17 Counselors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.993 1.716 3.039
18 Classified staff providing student and staff safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.079 0.092 0.141
19 Parent involvement coordinators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0825 0.00 0.00
(b)(i) The superintendent may only allocate funding, up to the 20
combined minimum allocations, for nurses, social workers, 21
psychologists, counselors, classified staff providing student and 22
staff safety, and parent involvement coordinators under (a) of this 23
subsection to the extent of and proportionate to a school district's 24
demonstrated actual ratios of: Full-time equivalent physical, social, 25
and emotional support staff to full-time equivalent students.26
(ii) The superintendent must adopt rules to implement this 27
subsection (5)(b) and the rules must require school districts to 28
prioritize funding allocated as required by (b)(i) of this subsection 29
for physical, social, and emotional support staff who hold a valid 30
educational staff associate certificate appropriate for the staff's 31
role. 32
(iii) For the purposes of this subsection (5)(b), "physical, 33
social, and emotional support staff" include nurses, social workers, 34
psychologists, counselors, classified staff providing student and 35
staff safety, parent involvement coordinators, and other school 36
p. 5 HB 1404
district employees and contractors who provide physical, social, and 1
emotional support to students as defined by the superintendent.2
(c) The superintendent shall develop rules that require school 3
districts to use the additional funding provided under (a) of this 4
subsection to support increased staffing, prevent layoffs, or 5
increase salaries for the following staff types in the 2024-25 school 6
year: Paraeducators, office support, and noninstructional aides. The 7
superintendent shall collect data from school districts on how the 8
increased allocations are used. 9
(6)(a) The minimum staffing allocation for each school district 10
to provide district -wide support services shall be allocated per one 11
thousand annual average full -time equivalent students in grades K -12 12
as follows: 13
Staff per 1,00014
K-12 students15
Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.62816
Facilities, maintenance, and grounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.81317
Warehouse, laborers, and mechanics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.33218
(b) The minimum allocation of staff units for each school 19
district to support certificated and classified staffing of central 20
administration shall be 5.30 percent of the staff units generated 21
under subsections (4)(a) and (5) of this section and (a) of this 22
subsection. 23
(7) The distribution formula shall include staffing allocations 24
to school districts for career and technical education and skill 25
center administrative and other school-level certificated staff, as 26
specified in the omnibus appropriations act. 27
(8)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, the minimum 28
allocation for each school district shall include allocations per 29
annual average full-time equivalent student for the following 30
materials, supplies, and operating costs as provided in the 2023-24 31
school year, after which the allocations shall be adjusted annually 32
for inflation as specified in the omnibus appropriations act:33
Per annual average34
full-time equivalent student35
in grades K-1236
Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $178.9837
Utilities and insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $430.2638
Curriculum and textbooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $164.4839
p. 6 HB 1404
Other supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $326.541
Library materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $22.652
Instructional professional development for certificated and3
classified staff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $28.944
Facilities maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $206.225
Security and central office administration. . . . . . . . . $146.376
(b) In addition to the amounts provided in (a) of this 7
subsection, beginning in the 2023-24 school year, the omnibus 8
appropriations act shall provide the following minimum allocation for 9
each annual average full-time equivalent student in grades nine 10
through 12 for the following materials, supplies, and operating 11
costs, to be adjusted annually for inflation: 12
Per annual average13
full-time equivalent student14
in grades 9-1215
Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $44.0516
Curriculum and textbooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $48.0617
Other supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $94.0718
Library materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6.0519
Instructional professional development for certificated and20
classified staff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8.0121
(c) The increased allocation amount of $21 per annual average 22
full-time equivalent student for materials, supplies, and operating 23
costs provided under (a) of this subsection is intended to address 24
growing costs in the enumerated categories and may not be expended 25
for any other purpose. 26
(9) In addition to the amounts provided in subsection (8) of this 27
section and subject to RCW 28A.150.265, the omnibus appropriations 28
act shall provide an amount based on full-time equivalent student 29
enrollment in each of the following: 30
(a) Exploratory career and technical education courses for 31
students in grades seven through 12; 32
(b) Preparatory career and technical education courses for 33
students in grades nine through 12 offered in a high school; and34
(c) Preparatory career and technical education courses for 35
students in grades 11 and 12 offered through a skill center.36
(10) In addition to the allocations otherwise provided under this 37
section, amounts shall be provided to support the following programs 38
and services: 39
p. 7 HB 1404
(a)(i) To provide supplemental instruction and services for 1
students who are not meeting academic standards through the learning 2
assistance program under RCW 28A.165.005 through 28A.165.065, 3
allocations shall be based on the greater of either: The district 4
percentage of students in kindergarten through grade 12 who were 5
eligible for free or reduced-price meals for the school year 6
immediately preceding the district's participation, in whole or part, 7
in the United States department of agriculture's community 8
eligibility provision, or the district percentage of students in 9
grades K-12 who were eligible for free or reduced-price meals in the 10
prior school year. The minimum allocation for the program shall, 11
except as provided in (a)(iii) of this subsection, provide for each 12
level of prototypical school resources to provide, on a statewide 13
average, 2.3975 hours per week in extra instruction with a class size 14
of 15 learning assistance program students per teacher.15
(ii) In addition to funding allocated under (a)(i) of this 16
subsection, to provide supplemental instruction and services for 17
students who are not meeting academic standards in qualifying 18
schools. A qualifying school, except as provided in (a)(iv) of this 19
subsection, means a school in which the three-year rolling average of 20
the prior year total annual average enrollment that qualifies for 21
free or reduced-price meals equals or exceeds 50 percent or more of 22
its total annual average enrollment. A school continues to meet the 23
definition of a qualifying school if the school: Participates in the 24
United States department of agriculture's community eligibility 25
provision; and met the definition of a qualifying school in the year 26
immediately preceding their participation. The minimum allocation for 27
this additional high poverty-based allocation must provide for each 28
level of prototypical school resources to provide, on a statewide 29
average, 1.1 hours per week in extra instruction with a class size of 30
15 learning assistance program students per teacher, under RCW 31
28A.165.055, school districts must distribute the high poverty-based 32
allocation to the schools that generated the funding allocation.33
(iii) For the 2024-25 ((and 2025-26 )) through 2029-30 school 34
years, allocations under (a)(i) of this subsection for school 35
districts providing meals at no charge to students under RCW 36
28A.235.135 that are not participating, in whole or in part, in the 37
United States department of agriculture's community eligibility 38
provision shall be based on the school district percentage of 39
students in grades K-12 who were eligible for free or reduced-price 40
p. 8 HB 1404
meals in school years 2019-20 through 2022-23 or the prior school 1
year, whichever is greatest. 2
(iv) For the 2024-25 ((and 2025-26 )) through 2029-30 school 3
years, a school providing meals at no charge to students under RCW 4
28A.235.135 that is not participating in the department of 5
agriculture's community eligibility provision continues to meet the 6
definition of a qualifying school under (a)(ii) of this subsection if 7
the school met the definition during one year of the 2019-20 through 8
2022-23 school years, or in the prior school year. 9
(b)(i) To provide supplemental instruction and services for 10
students whose primary language is other than English, allocations 11
shall be based on the head count number of students in each school 12
who are eligible for and enrolled in the transitional bilingual 13
instruction program under RCW 28A.180.010 through 28A.180.080. The 14
minimum allocation for each level of prototypical school shall 15
provide resources to provide, on a statewide average, 4.7780 hours 16
per week in extra instruction for students in grades kindergarten 17
through six and 6.7780 hours per week in extra instruction for 18
students in grades seven through 12, with 15 transitional bilingual 19
instruction program students per teacher. Notwithstanding other 20
provisions of this subsection (10), the actual per-student allocation 21
may be scaled to provide a larger allocation for students needing 22
more intensive intervention and a commensurate reduced allocation for 23
students needing less intensive intervention, as detailed in the 24
omnibus appropriations act. 25
(ii) To provide supplemental instruction and services for 26
students who have exited the transitional bilingual program, 27
allocations shall be based on the head count number of students in 28
each school who have exited the transitional bilingual program within 29
the previous two years based on their performance on the English 30
proficiency assessment and are eligible for and enrolled in the 31
transitional bilingual instruction program under RCW 32
28A.180.040(1)(g). The minimum allocation for each prototypical 33
school shall provide resources to provide, on a statewide average, 34
3.0 hours per week in extra instruction with 15 exited students per 35
teacher. 36
(c) To provide additional allocations to support programs for 37
highly capable students under RCW 28A.185.010 through 28A.185.030, 38
allocations shall be based on 5.0 percent of each school district's 39
full-time equivalent basic education enrollment. The minimum 40
p. 9 HB 1404
allocation for the programs shall provide resources to provide, on a 1
statewide average, 2.1590 hours per week in extra instruction with 2
fifteen highly capable program students per teacher.3
(11) The allocations under subsections (4)(a), (5), (6), and (8) 4
of this section shall be enhanced as provided under RCW 28A.150.390 5
on an excess cost basis to provide supplemental instructional 6
resources for students with disabilities. 7
(12)(a) For the purposes of allocations for prototypical high 8
schools and middle schools under subsections (4) and (10) of this 9
section that are based on the percent of students in the school who 10
are eligible for free and reduced-price meals, the actual percent of 11
such students in a school shall be adjusted by a factor identified in 12
the omnibus appropriations act to reflect underreporting of free and 13
reduced-price meal eligibility among middle and high school students.14
(b) Allocations or enhancements provided under subsections (4), 15
(7), and (9) of this section for exploratory and preparatory career 16
and technical education courses shall be provided only for courses 17
approved by the office of the superintendent of public instruction 18
under chapter 28A.700 RCW. 19
(13)(a) This formula for distribution of basic education funds 20
shall be reviewed biennially by the superintendent and governor. The 21
recommended formula shall be subject to approval, amendment or 22
rejection by the legislature. 23
(b) In the event the legislature rejects the distribution formula 24
recommended by the governor, without adopting a new distribution 25
formula, the distribution formula for the previous school year shall 26
remain in effect. 27
(c) The enrollment of any district shall be the annual average 28
number of full-time equivalent students and part-time students as 29
provided in RCW 28A.150.350, enrolled on the first school day of each 30
month, including students who are in attendance pursuant to RCW 31
28A.335.160 and 28A.225.250 who do not reside within the servicing 32
school district. The definition of full-time equivalent student shall 33
be determined by rules of the superintendent of public instruction 34
and shall be included as part of the superintendent's biennial budget 35
request. The definition shall be based on the minimum instructional 36
hour offerings required under RCW 28A.150.220. Any revision of the 37
present definition shall not take effect until approved by the house 38
ways and means committee and the senate ways and means committee.39
p. 10 HB 1404
(d) The office of financial management shall make a monthly 1
review of the superintendent's reported full-time equivalent students 2
in the common schools in conjunction with RCW 43.62.050.3
Sec. 3. RCW 28A.235.135 and 2023 c 379 s 2 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
(1)(a) ((In accordance with (b) and (c) of this subsection )) 6
Except as provided otherwise by this section and RCW 28A.235.160, 7
beginning with the ((2023-24)) 2026-27 school year, each school 8
district shall provide breakfast and lunch each school day to any 9
student who requests a breakfast, lunch, or both. The school district 10
must provide the meals at no charge to the student and without 11
consideration of the student's eligibility for a federally reimbursed 12
free or reduced-price meal. Meals provided under this section must be 13
nutritiously adequate and qualify for federal reimbursement under the 14
school lunch program or the school breakfast program, and students 15
are not eligible for more than one meal in a meal service period.16
(b) The requirements in (a) of this subsection ((apply to public 17
schools in which:18
(i) Educational services are provided to students in any of the 19
grades of kindergarten through four; and20
(ii) 30 percent or more of the enrolled students meet federal 21
eligibility requirements for free or reduced-price lunches.22
(c) The obligation to provide breakfast and lunch to students 23
under this subsection (1):24
(i) Begins in the 2023-24 school year for schools in which 40 25
percent or more of the enrolled students meet federal eligibility 26
requirements for free or reduced-price lunches;27
(ii) Begins in the 2024-25 school year for schools in which the 28
percentage of enrolled students that meet federal eligibility 29
requirements for free or reduced-price lunches is at least 30 percent 30
and less than 40 percent; and31
(iii) Does)), for purposes of having schools participating in the 32
United States department of agriculture's community eligibility 33
provision under RCW 28A.235.300 complete the duration of the 34
provision's four-year cycle, do not apply to schools participating in 35
the ((United States department of agriculture's )) community 36
eligibility provision ((under RCW 28A.235.300)) that have not 37
completed the duration of the provision's four-year cycle.38
p. 11 HB 1404
(2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 1
reimburse school districts, subject to the requirements of subsection 2
(1) of this section, on a per meal reimbursement basis for meals that 3
are not ((already)) reimbursed at the United States department of 4
agriculture's free rate. The additional state reimbursement amount 5
must be the difference between the United States department of 6
agriculture's free rate and the United States department of 7
agriculture's paid rate , plus an additional amount of $0.05 per meal 8
or a higher amount if authorized in the omnibus appropriations act.9
(3) School districts, in accordance with RCW 28A.235.160, may be 10
exempted from the requirements of this section. 11
(4) To maximize federal funding, school districts must continue 12
collecting free and reduced-price meal eligibility applications where 13
applicable and run direct certification at least monthly in 14
accordance with RCW 28A.235.280. School districts shall also annually 15
monitor data for eligibility in the United States department of 16
agriculture community eligibility provision and apply where eligible 17
as required in RCW 28A.235.300. 18
(5) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions 19
apply: 20
(a) "Public school" has the same meaning as in RCW 28A.150.010.21
(b) "School breakfast program" has the same meaning as in RCW 22
28A.235.160. 23
(c) "School lunch program" has the same meaning as in RCW 24
28A.235.160. 25
(6) This section governs school operation and management under 26
RCW 28A.710.040 and 28A.715.020, and applies to charter schools 27
established under chapter 28A.710 RCW and state-tribal education 28
compact schools ((established under)) subject to chapter 28A.715 RCW 29
to the same extent as it applies to school districts.30
(7) The requirements in this section shall lapse if the federal 31
reimbursement for ((any)) school breakfasts or lunches is eliminated.32
Sec. 4. RCW 28A.235.160 and 2023 c 379 s 4 are each amended to 33
read as follows: 34
(1) For the purposes of this section: 35
(a) "Free or reduced-price lunch" means a lunch served by a 36
school district participating in the national school lunch program to 37
a student qualifying for national school lunch program benefits based 38
on family size-income criteria. 39
p. 12 HB 1404
(b) (("Lunch copay" means the amount a student who qualifies for 1
a reduced-price lunch is charged for a reduced-price lunch.2
(c))) "School breakfast program" means a program meeting federal 3
requirements defined in 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1773. 4
(((d))) (c) "School lunch program" means a meal program meeting 5
the requirements defined in Title 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1751 et seq.6
(((e) "Severe-need school" means a school that qualifies for a 7
severe-need school reimbursement rate from federal funds for school 8
breakfasts served to children from low-income families.9
(f))) (d) "Summer food service program" means a meal or snack 10
program meeting the requirements defined by the superintendent of 11
public instruction under subsection (((4))) (3) of this section.12
(2) School districts shall implement a school lunch program ((in 13
each public school in the district in which educational services are 14
provided to children in any of the grades of kindergarten through 15
four and in which 25 percent or more of the enrolled students qualify 16
for a free or reduced-price lunch )) and school breakfast program in 17
each public school in the district in which educational services are 18
provided to students . In accordance with RCW 28A.235.135, school 19
districts shall provide meals at no charge to all requesting students 20
at public schools ((that meet the criteria established in RCW 21
28A.235.135(1) (b) and (c))). In developing and implementing its 22
school lunch program and school breakfast program, each school 23
district may consult with an advisory committee including school 24
staff, community members, and others appointed by the board of 25
directors of the district. 26
(3) ((To the extent funds are appropriated for this purpose, each 27
school district shall implement a school breakfast program in each 28
school where more than 40 percent of students eligible to participate 29
in the school lunch program qualify for free or reduced-price meal 30
reimbursement. Beginning in the 2023-24 school year and in accordance 31
with RCW 28A.235.135, school districts shall implement a breakfast 32
program in each school providing meals at no charge to students. For 33
the second year before the implementation of the district's school 34
breakfast program, and for each subsequent school year, each school 35
district shall submit data enabling the superintendent of public 36
instruction to determine which schools within the district will 37
qualify for this requirement. Schools where lunch programs start 38
after the 2003-04 school year, where 30 percent of students qualify 39
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for free or reduced-price meals, must begin school breakfast programs 1
the second year following the start of a lunch program.2
(4))) Each school district shall implement a summer food service 3
program in each public school in the district in which a summer 4
program of academic, enrichment, or remedial services is provided and 5
in which 50 percent or more of the children enrolled in the school 6
meet federal eligibility requirements for free or reduced-price 7
lunch. However, the superintendent of public instruction shall 8
develop rules establishing criteria to permit an exemption for a 9
school that can demonstrate availability of an adequate alternative 10
summer feeding program. Sites providing meals should be open to all 11
children in the area, unless a compelling case can be made to limit 12
access to the program. The superintendent of public instruction shall 13
adopt a definition of compelling case and a schedule for 14
implementation as follows: 15
(a) Beginning the summer of 2005 if the school currently offers a 16
school breakfast or lunch program; or 17
(b) Beginning the summer following the school year during which a 18
school implements a school lunch program under this section.19
(((5))) (4) Schools not offering a ((breakfast or lunch )) summer 20
food service program may meet the meal service requirements of 21
((subsections (2) and (4))) subsection (3) of this section through 22
any of the following: 23
(a) Preparing the meals on-site; 24
(b) Receiving the meals from another school that participates in 25
a United States department of agriculture child nutrition program; or26
(c) Contracting with a nonschool entity that is a licensed food 27
service establishment under RCW 69.07.010. 28
(((6) Requirements that school districts have a school lunch, 29
breakfast, or summer nutrition program under this section shall not 30
create or imply any state funding obligation for these costs. )) (5) 31
The legislature does not intend to include ((these)) school lunch, 32
breakfast, or summer food service programs, or the requirements of 33
RCW 28A.235.135, within the state's obligation for basic education 34
funding under Article IX of the state Constitution.35
(((7) Beginning in the 2021-22 school year, school districts with 36
school lunch programs must eliminate lunch copays for students in 37
prekindergarten through 12th grade who qualify for reduced-price 38
lunches, and the superintendent of public instruction must allocate 39
funding for this purpose.40
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(8))) (6) The requirements in this section shall lapse if the 1
federal reimbursement for ((any)) school breakfasts, lunches, or 2
summer food service programs is eliminated. 3
(((9))) (7) School districts may be exempted from the 4
requirements of this section and RCW 28A.235.135 by showing good 5
cause why they cannot comply with the office of the superintendent of 6
public instruction to the extent that such exemption is not in 7
conflict with federal or state law. The process and criteria by which 8
school districts may be exempted shall be developed by rule and 9
revised if necessary by the office of the superintendent of public 10
instruction in consultation with representatives of school directors, 11
school food service, community-based organizations, and a state 12
organization of parents and teachers. 13
Sec. 5. RCW 28A.235.250 and 2018 c 271 s 1 are each amended to 14
read as follows: 15
(1)(a) Except as provided otherwise in subsection (2) of this 16
section, each school that participates in the national school lunch 17
program, the school breakfast program, or both, shall annually 18
distribute and collect an application for all households of children 19
in kindergarten through grade ((twelve)) 12 to determine whether a 20
student meets federal eligibility for free or reduced-price meals. If 21
a parent or guardian of a student needs assistance with application 22
materials in a language other than English, the school shall offer 23
appropriate assistance to the parent or guardian. 24
(b) If a student who, based on information available to the 25
school, ((is likely eligible )) likely meets federal eligibility for 26
free or reduced-price meals but has not submitted an application to 27
determine eligibility, the school shall, in accordance with the 28
authority granted under 7 C.F.R. Sec. 245.6 (d), complete and submit 29
the application for the student. 30
(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to a school 31
that provides free meals to all students in a year in which the 32
school does not collect applications to determine student eligibility 33
for free or reduced-price meals. 34
Sec. 6. RCW 28A.235.270 and 2018 c 271 s 4 are each amended to 35
read as follows: 36
(((1))) No school or school district personnel or school 37
volunteer may: 38
p. 15 HB 1404
(((a) Take any action that would publicly identify a student who 1
cannot pay for a school meal or for meals previously served to the 2
student, including but not limited to requiring the student to wear a 3
wristband, hand stamp, or other identifying marker, or by serving the 4
student an alternative meal;5
(b))) (1) Require a student who cannot pay for ((a school meal or 6
for)) meals previously served to the student to perform chores or 7
other actions in exchange for a meal or for the reduction or 8
elimination of a school meal debt ((, unless all students perform 9
similar chores or work;10
(c)));11
(2) Require a student to dispose of an already served meal 12
because of ((the student's inability to pay for the meal or because 13
of)) money owed for meals previously served to the student; or14
(((d))) (3) Allow any disciplinary action that is taken against a 15
student to result in the denial or delay of a nutritionally adequate 16
meal to the student((; or17
(e) Require a parent or guardian to pay fees or costs in excess 18
of the actual amounts owed for meals previously served to the 19
student.20
(2) Communications from a school or school district about amounts 21
owed for meals previously served to a student under the age of 22
fifteen may only be directed to the student's parent or guardian. 23
Nothing in this subsection prohibits a school or school district from 24
sending a student home with a notification that is addressed to the 25
student's parent or guardian.26
(3)(a) A school district shall notify a parent or guardian of the 27
negative balance of a student's school meal account no later than ten 28
days after the student's school meal account has reached a negative 29
balance. Within thirty days of sending this notification, the school 30
district shall exhaust all options to directly certify the student 31
for free or reduced-price meals. Within these thirty days, while the 32
school district is attempting to certify the student for free or 33
reduced-price meals, the student may not be denied access to a school 34
meal unless the school district determines that the student is 35
ineligible for free or reduced-price meals.36
(b) If the school district is unable to directly certify the 37
student for free or reduced-price meals, the school district shall 38
provide the parent or guardian with a paper copy of or an electronic 39
link to an application for free or reduced-price meals with the 40
p. 16 HB 1404
notification required by (a) of this subsection and encourage the 1
parent or guardian to submit the application)). 2
Sec. 7. RCW 28A.235.285 and 2022 c 111 s 1 are each amended to 3
read as follows: 4
(1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 5
initiate and oversee the development and implementation of a 6
statewide electronic repository of household income information that 7
is required for a student's enrollment in, or eligibility for, the 8
national school lunch program, the school breakfast program, or both 9
programs for the purpose of: 10
(a) ((Removing barriers that diminish access to free and reduced-11
price meals by students enrolled in eligible schools;12
(b))) Providing parents and legal guardians ((of students 13
enrolled in eligible schools )) with a voluntary, secure, and 14
convenient online portal for providing household information that is 15
required for participation in the national school lunch program, the 16
school breakfast program, or both programs; 17
(((c))) (b) Providing student household income information to 18
schools and school districts ((that provide meals at no charge to 19
students without using school meal applications to determine )) for 20
purposes of determining eligibility for low-income programs for 21
students and schools without the use of school meal applications; and22
(((d))) (c) Ensuring an accessible, simplified process for 23
enrolling students in, and administering, related nutrition programs, 24
including the summer P-EBT program. 25
(2) In addition to the requirements of this section and other 26
requirements deemed necessary by the superintendent of public 27
instruction, the superintendent of public instruction shall ensure 28
the electronic repository: 29
(a) Complies with any applicable federal requirements for 30
participation in the national school lunch program, the school 31
breakfast program, or both programs; 32
(b) Complies with any applicable requirements necessary for 33
schools and school districts to access repository data;34
(c) Complies with any applicable standards and requirements 35
necessary to ensure that the repository data connects to the direct 36
certification system and streamlines the process in a manner that 37
maximizes the number of eligible students directly certified for free 38
school meals each month; 39
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(d) Includes robust safeguards, both technically and 1
procedurally, to ensure that the income information provided by 2
parents and legal guardians is secure and accessed only by 3
individuals with express authorization to do so; and4
(e) Is accessible online and easily navigable by parents and 5
legal guardians, and in multiple languages, for the purpose of 6
voluntarily providing the pertinent household income data.7
(3) Household income information received by the office of the 8
superintendent of public instruction, school employees, school 9
district employees, or their designees in accordance with this 10
section is exempt from disclosure under chapter 42.56 RCW and may not 11
be disseminated except as provided by law. 12
(4)(a) Beginning in 2022, the office of the superintendent of 13
public instruction shall report annually to the legislature by 14
December 1st on the electronic repository, including: (i) The number 15
of schools and school districts accessing the data of the electronic 16
repository for providing household information that is required for a 17
school's participation in the national school lunch program, the 18
school breakfast program, or both programs; and (ii) recommendations 19
for increasing the number of repository users and improving the 20
technical functionality of the repository. 21
(b) In lieu of the report contents required in (a) of this 22
subsection, the report required by December 1, 2022, shall include a 23
plan, timeline, and cost estimate for: (i) Implementing the 24
development of the repository; (ii) securing any needed vendors for 25
its development and, if necessary, operation; and (iii) making the 26
repository accessible to schools, school districts, and the public 27
through appropriate electronic interfaces. 28
(5) For the purposes of this section, "school breakfast program" 29
and "school lunch program" have the same meaning as in RCW 30
28A.235.160.31
Sec. 8. RCW 28A.235.300 and 2023 c 379 s 8 are each amended to 32
read as follows: 33
(1)(a) Except as provided otherwise by this section, each public 34
school that has an identified student percentage of at least 40 35
percent as determined annually by April 1st, must participate in the 36
United States department of agriculture's community eligibility 37
provision in the subsequent school year and throughout the duration 38
of the community eligibility provision's four-year cycle.39
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(b) School districts, to the extent practicable, shall group 1
public schools for purposes of maximizing the number of public 2
schools eligible to participate in the community eligibility 3
provision. Individual schools participating in a group may have less 4
than 40 percent identified students, provided the average identified 5
student percentage for the group is at least 40 percent.6
(2) Public schools that, through an arrangement with a local 7
entity, provide meals to all students and at no costs to the students 8
are exempt from the requirements of this section. 9
(3) ((This section governs )) The office of the superintendent of 10
public instruction shall reimburse school districts, subject to the 11
requirements of subsection (1) of this section, on a per meal 12
reimbursement basis for meals that are not reimbursed at the United 13
States department of agriculture's free rate. The additional state 14
reimbursement amount must be the difference between the United States 15
department of agriculture's free rate and the United States 16
department of agriculture's paid rate, plus an additional amount of 17
$0.05 per meal or a higher amount if authorized in the omnibus 18
appropriations act.19
(4) Subsections (1) and (2) of this section govern school 20
operation and management under RCW 28A.710.040 and 28A.715.020, and 21
((applies)) apply to charter schools established under chapter 22
28A.710 RCW and state-tribal education compact schools established 23
under chapter 28A.715 RCW to the same extent as ((it applies )) they 24
apply to public schools and school districts. 25
(((4))) (5) For the purposes of this section, "identified 26
student" means a student who is directly certified for free school 27
meals based on the student's participation in other means-tested 28
assistance programs, and students who are categorically eligible for 29
free school meals without an application and not subject to income 30
verification. 31
Sec. 9. RCW 28A.405.415 and 2023 c 379 s 7 are each amended to 32
read as follows: 33
(1) Certificated instructional staff who have attained 34
certification from the national board for professional teaching 35
standards shall receive a bonus each year in which they maintain the 36
certification. The bonus shall be calculated as follows: The annual 37
bonus shall be $5,000 in the 2007-08 school year. Thereafter, the 38
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annual bonus shall increase by inflation, except that the bonus shall 1
not be increased during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years.2
(2)(a) Certificated instructional staff who have attained 3
certification from the national board for professional teaching 4
standards shall be eligible for bonuses in addition to that provided 5
by subsection (1) of this section if the individual is in an 6
instructional assignment in a school in which at least 70 percent of 7
the students qualify for the free and reduced-price lunch program.8
(b) An individual is eligible for bonuses authorized under this 9
subsection (2) if he or she is in an instructional assignment in a 10
school that meets the definition of high poverty school as defined in 11
rule by the office of the superintendent of public instruction in the 12
school year immediately preceding the school's participation in the 13
United States department of agriculture's community eligibility 14
provision. 15
(c) For the 2024-25 ((and 2025-26)) through 2029-30 school years, 16
individuals are eligible for bonuses under this subsection if they 17
are in an instructional assignment in a school providing meals at no 18
charge to students under RCW 28A.235.135 that met the definition of 19
high poverty school as defined in rule by the office of the 20
superintendent of public instruction during the 2022-23 school year.21
(3) The amount of the additional bonus under subsection (2) of 22
this section for those meeting the qualifications of subsection (2) 23
of this section is $5,000. 24
(4) The bonuses provided under this section are in addition to 25
compensation received under a district's salary schedule adopted in 26
accordance with RCW 28A.405.200 and shall not be included in 27
calculations of a district's average salary and associated salary 28
limitations under RCW 28A.400.200. 29
(5) The bonuses provided under this section shall be paid in a 30
lump sum amount. 31
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. RCW 28A.235.260 (Free or reduced-price 32
meals—Student assistance) and 2018 c 271 s 3 are each repealed.33
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Section 10 of this act takes effect 34
September 1, 2026. 35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. If specific funding for the purposes of 36
this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not 37
p. 20 HB 1404
provided by June 30, 2025, in the omnibus appropriations act, this 1
act is null and void. 2
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