Secretary of Education Betsy De Vos recently found herself in hot water—again— over her comments about historically black colleges being “pioneers when it comes to school choice,” apparently not understanding that these colleges were founded because the vast majority of African-American students were denied entry to the nation’s universities and colleges for decades.
But her earlier comments about free lunches in front of a politically conservative audience sent shivers through the hearts of public school advocates who have been bracing for congressional Republicans next assault on school free and reduced meals programs, which could lead to millions of children going without a meal during the school day.
Culver City Unified School District Supt. Joshua Arnold said he would do everything in his power from that happening on his watch.
“No students will go hungry while at school in Culver City. Ever,” Arnold asserted.
Approximately 31 million children nationwide qualify for free or reduced lunch and breakfast programs, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
De Vos’ supporters said she was attempting to make a joke about whether public schools should provide free meals to their student while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference last month. She said she was the first person to tell Sen. Bernie Sanders (D- Vermont) “to his face there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
De Vos’ remark comes during a time when Republicans in Congress are considering taking another shot at gutting free lunches in public schools. Under a proposal last April from the Education and Workforce Committee of the House of Representatives, states would have received far fewer federal dollars if they accepted their money for school meals in block grants. In addition, states that opted for this type of funding would not be required to follow most federal nutrition requirements.
According to Arnold, Culver City Unified has about 31% of its families qualifying for either free or reduced price meals. Approximately 1,700 students participate in the program.
The popular Backpacks for Kids initiative would not be affected by any federal mandate. “This program is unimpacted by changes to state and federal budgets or policies — and that’s partly why it was designed to begin with, to help Culver City residents help other Culver City residents without there ever being anything in the way,” Arnold explained.
According to the Food Research and Action Center, eating breakfast at school “helps improve student academic performance and behavior.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics sharply criticized the proposed legislation.
De Vos, who barely survived a Senate confirmation last month, has come under fire for her history of supporting vouchers and charters schools, to the detriment of public schools, according to her detractors.
Gary Walker contributed to this story.