Miami-Dade County schools won’t have universal free breakfast and lunch next school year.
Up until now, the district could offer the free meals because it qualified for the federal Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP, which makes it so the federal government pays for the meals at low-income schools and districts. The students get the free breakfast and lunch without requiring families to fill applications to qualify. These pupils are “direct certified.”
After CEP updated federal eligibility data, it concluded Miami-Dade County Schools no longer qualify for the districtwide support.
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Four years ago, 64% of Miami-Dade County students were “direct certified,” meeting the threshold set by the federal government of 62.5%. This year, the students “direct certified” was 45.1%.
However, because schools can qualify individually even if the district doesn’t, some will still continue having free lunch without requiring parents or guardians to submit the paperwork. A total of 121 schools will continue that.
"Our goal is to protect families from any hardship while keeping free breakfast and lunch available to as many students as possible," said district chief operations officer Luis Diaz in a statement on Wednesday. "We’re launching a comprehensive outreach campaign to ensure families have clear, step-by-step guidance."
At elementary, middle and high schools not under CEP, the price of full lunch next school year will be $4.20 and the reduced price $0.40.
Breakfast is free for kindergarten through eighth grade. Middle and high school students will need to pay $2.50 and those on reduced lunch will pay $0.30.
In the 2019-2020 school year, breakfast was free for everyone and lunch was $2.25 for elementary students and $2.50 for middle and high schoolers, if they weren't on a reduced price plan.
For students not at one of 121 schools automatically handing out free meals, families will need to submit an application by Aug. 10.
Students who are certified through programs such as SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, foster care, Head Start, migrant services, or homeless assistance will continue to receive free meals automatically.
