Many Charter School Students are Eligible for Free Lunches, But Schools May Not Participate in Program

Students from poor or low-income households are typically eligible for free or reduced-price meals through their schools. This includes charter schools, which are growing in number and often have a greater percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals than traditional public schools.

But many charter schools do not participate in school meals programs, depriving students of this essential resource.

Today’s WatchBlog post looks at our new report about the challenges charter schools told us about that may limit their participation in the National School Lunch Program, and what more can be done to increase participation.

Image

Why do some charter schools not participate in the school lunch program?

Millions of students nationwide receive lunch each day through the National School Lunch Program. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) coordinates with states that work with local schools, which must enroll to participate in the program and access federal funding. Then students, including those eligible for free or reduced-price meals, can get lunch through their school.

During school year 2022-2023, as many as 55% of charter school students were eligible for free or reduced-priced meals—a higher percentage than students in other public schools (51%). But we found that even though they had higher rates of eligible students, a lower percentage of charter schools participate in the school lunch program, particularly in rural areas.

Traditional public school vs charter school participation in the National School Lunch Program 

Image

The good news is charter school participation is growing. It grew by more than 20% between 2018 and 2023. But even so, it is still lower than traditional public school participation and many eligible students may still lack access. In fact, in nine states, more than 30% of students, who were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, were enrolled at charter schools that did not participate in the program.

Schools may not participate for a number of reasons. We heard from charter school officials that the school lunch program is complicated to operate. Charter schools may lack enough staff or staff with experience needed to manage this program. For example, officials from an organization with more than 15 charter schools said that they don’t have enough resources to operate the program on their own. One solution would be to join the local school district’s program. But even if a charter school was able and willing to join a school district’s program to provide meals, the school district itself may not be able to take on additional schools for its lunch program. At the schools we spoke with that do not participate, students had to bring their own lunch or purchase food that was available, such as ramen noodle packets.

Charter School Participation in the National School Lunch Program During the 2022-2023 School Year

Image

What more can be done to improve access?

USDA provides a lot of information and resources about the school lunch program through its website, conferences, and through state agencies. But most of the charter schools we spoke with didn’t know about these resources and said it would be helpful to have more information and assistance.

We also found that while some information is available about charter school participation, USDA does not have its own data specifically about charter school participation rates. Having this information could help the department understand why schools might not be participating, as well as target resources to areas with low participation.

USDA also doesn’t know if the assistance it provides charter schools, such as guidance and other resources, is helping these schools meet their students’ needs. We recommended that USDA conduct additional outreach to charter schools and collect data on participation challenges.

Learn more about our work on charter schools and school lunches by checking out our new report.

• GAO’s fact-based, nonpartisan information helps Congress and federal agencies improve government. The WatchBlog lets us contextualize GAO’s work a little more for the public. Check out more of our posts at GAO.gov/blog.
   
• Got a comment, question? Email us at blog@gao.gov.