Maine was one of the first states to pass legislation providing free school lunches to all students after pandemic-era funding expired 鈥 a policy that has been adopted in seven other states and is being considered across the country.
But since the law took effect a year and a half ago, some districts have struggled with an unintended consequence: Now that parents no longer need to fill out applications to get their children access to free meals, officials have lost an important source of data on their district鈥檚 low-income households 鈥 information traditionally used for funding.
The free and reduced-price meal application, a federal form sent home with students at the start of the school year, allows districts to determine what percentage of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
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