A Benefit of Free Lunch for All: Fewer Students Get Repeatedly Suspended, New Study Suggests
September 18, 2018
By: Matt Barnum
Source: Chalkbeat
Allowing an entire school to eat for free, instead of restricting free lunch to students whose families fill out forms, can reduce the number of students who get suspended multiple times, according to a new study.
It’s the latest evidence that universal meal programs, which have also been linked to higher test scores and better health in other research, help students.
“There are many potential benefits to providing universal free meals in high-poverty schools, including achievement impacts … and of course whatever reduction in kids going hungry comes with it,” said Nora Gordon of Georgetown University, who wrote the paper along with Krista Ruffini at the University of California at Berkeley.