Virginia House subcommittee kills universal free meals bill

A bill that would have provided free school meals to all K-12 students in Virginia has been killed in a House subcommittee.

The state bill failed to pass the House Pre-K-12 Education Subcommittee last week in a 5-3 vote.

HB 1967 would have required schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to all Virginia students unless they received written instruction from a student’s parent or guardian to not offer the meals. 

Virginia currently provides free school meals to students who qualify for reduced-price ones. The state is one of many that have introduced a universal free meals bill this legislative session.

See which states currently offer universal free meals using the map below: