US EditionHow Will Every Oklahoma School District Fund Free Lunches? Walters Says They Must Make It a Priority | News Channel 3-12
OKLAHOMA, JUL 8 – State Superintendent Ryan Walters mandates full funding for free student lunches with budget compliance required by Oct. 1 to ensure no student pays for meals, impacting all districts.
- On Monday, State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced that all Oklahoma school districts are now required to cover the cost of free lunches for students in the upcoming school year.
- Walters made the directive to address what he called bureaucratic bloat and to prevent parents from being triple-taxed through federal, local, and invoice payments.
- Walters warned districts to submit budgets including lunch funding by October 1 or risk rejection and loss of accreditation until resolved, while requiring proof of compliance with nutritional standards to be published.
- A district spokeswoman estimated the mandate could cost between $5 million and $8 million, and Walters stated that if the budget proposal does not cover the cost of school lunches, she will reject it until the issue is resolved.
- The announcement prompted concerns about unfunded mandates and legal authority, while many districts learned of the order simultaneously with the media and were assessing budget impacts.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Ryan Walters issues school lunch demands, threatens audits to force admin cost cutting
Policy watchers and policy makers point out the state superintendent has no legal authority to mandate local funds be spent to feed students ineligible for free or reduced-rate meals. #oklaed
Walters slammed for unfunded school lunch mandate critics say he has no authority to enforce
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — State Superintendent Ryan Walters is facing backlash for what critics call an unenforceable political stunt—demanding school districts provide every student free lunch without giving them a single extra dollar to pay for it, and threatening to strip districts of state funding if they don’t “comply.”Walters made the demand in a social media video and email to parents Monday, warning schools they could lose funding or accred…
Koco News5
How will every Oklahoma school district fund free lunches? Walters says they must make it a priority
Every student in Oklahoma will be eating free lunch during the upcoming school year, according to a new directive sent out Monday by State Superintendent Ryan Walters.
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