The Houston Independent School District (HISD) board of education has approved a plan to offer free breakfast to all 208,000 district students beginning August 14. In addition, two years after cutting its school meal prices, the board froze those reduced prices in place for at least the next year. Elementary school lunch will remain at $1.40 while a middle-and high school lunch holds at $1.50.
The district says it made the move to universal free breakfasts to assist children with learning and succeeding in school. It cited a 2005 pilot study which showed that students who ate breakfast made a 77 percent improvement in their TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) scores.
Last school year, HISD had served breakfast to nearly 53,000 children who qualified for free meals under the federal school breakfast and lunch program. It is estimated that the new universal free breakfast program will cost the district about $1.3 million, while the federal government picks up an additional $16.2 million.
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