Overview
- The Miami‑Dade School Board voted on July 23 to end the districtwide universal free lunch program and roll back full free lunches for most students starting next school year.
- Universal free meals will continue at 121 schools that individually meet federal direct‑certification thresholds while other schools will provide free or reduced meals only to students whose families are enrolled in federal aid programs.
- Families whose children do not qualify will face new prices of $4.20 for lunch and $2.50 for breakfast while reduced‑price meals will cost $0.40 for lunch and $0.30 for breakfast.
- The district will give a 30‑day grace period of free meals at the start of the year and will open an application window for other eligible families on August 10, 2026, with no reapplication needed for students already directly certified.
- Officials and analysts blame the eligibility drop on demographic shifts such as families leaving the county, fewer immigrant students, and declines in SNAP enrollments tied to recent federal policy changes, which reduced the share of directly certified students from about 64% in 2022 to roughly 45.1%.