Bartlesville Public Schools is excited to announce that for the next school year that begins on August 15, it plans for every student to enjoy free breakfast and free lunch every day. Parents should no longer need to submit applications to participate in a free-and-reduced meal program. Instead, the district will be asking all families to complete a simpler online Economically Disadvantaged form to ensure it receives the proper amount of state aid.
The Bartlesville school board discussed the policy change on Monday, which was made possible by changes to the federal program that provides funding for school nutrition: Oklahoma has added Medicaid Free to its direct certification process for meal programs.
Recently, the Mid-Del district in metropolitan Oklahoma City announced that it was joining several other districts in that area which provide district-wide free meals. Now over 6,000 students in Bartlesville will also have the opportunity to eat two meals, at no charge, before they get home.
Over 51% of the district’s elementary students and over 40% of its secondary students are direct-certified for free meals through the Community Eligibility Provision based on their participation in means-tested programs like Medicaid Free, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. That is high enough to make it possible to provide free meals for all in-person students and still break even after federal reimbursement.