When Oklahoma state Superintendent Ryan Walters called for universal free school meals this week, some might have assumed the outspoken conservative was aligning with Democratic lawmakers he typically opposes.
But rather than pushing for increased state or federal funding to pay for free meals, Walters’ plan came in the form of a sudden order: Districts must redirect existing funds to cover the full costs of school meals, or face a state audit. He took aim at a familiar target for conservatives, suggesting that school systems should pull funds from “bloated” administrator salaries.
“No more triple-taxing parents to cover lunches while administrators pad their paychecks,” Walters wrote in a July 7 message to parents. “This is about your kids, not their egos.”
Anti-hunger advocates quickly called Walters’ plan impractical, state education groups said he didn’t have the legal authority to issue it, and districts said it would be impossible to pay for without cutting into funds already budgeted for student learning.
“Addressing student hunger and streamlining administrative costs are both worthwhile endeavors, but these changes must be implemented legislatively, not through an unfunded mandate,” said state House Education Committee Chair Rep. Dick Lowe, a Republican, in a July 9 statement.
The order will take effect during the 2025-26 school year, which starts next month, Walters said. He issued his directive after districts wrapped up their spring budgeting processes, and as leaders wrestle with the sudden suspension of billions of dollars of federal funding by the Trump administration. (Oklahoma’s share of that funding is almost $78 million, according to an Education Week analysis.)
At the same time, Walters also announced plans for a new state rule that would require all snacks and meals served in schools to be “free of seed oils, artificial food dyes, ultra-processed foods, pesticide-laden foods, and junk food vending machines to name a few.”
Republicans who panned improvements to school nutrition standards once championed by first lady Michelle Obama have increasingly pushed for new meal rules as part of Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s call to “make America healthy again” by removing ultra-processed foods from cafeteria trays.
Walters’ demand gets attention—and pushback
Conservatives, including the authors of the policy blueprint Project 2025, have also called for eliminating or restricting the community eligibility provision, a federal rule that allows schools and districts above a designated poverty threshold to serve universal free school meals. Walters’ order came a week after the deadline for schools to enroll in CEP, which would have made it easier for some to comply with the directive.
Walters—a former teacher who has discussed a run for governor—has developed a high profile by ordering Bibles in public schools, calling for the integration of scripture into history lessons, and issuing pointed critiques of “liberal agendas” in education. School administrators have also questioned his authority to issue those previous orders.
Walters’ latest message on meals came with a link to a petition in support of the move.
After Walters issued his meals order, the Oklahoma State School Boards Association quickly advised its members that there is “no state law requiring school districts to provide free meals to every student” and no actual order on school meals to enforce. Walters issued a press release and sent an email to parents, but he did not provide any direct notice or guidance to districts about the new rule, the organization noted in an advisory. There is also no proposal for new nutrition rules on the agenda for the state board of education agenda, which would have to approve any changes, it said.
State law already sets limits on administrator pay alongside minimum teacher salaries, the OSSBA said.
“Local school boards maintain primary authority over district budgets, enabling them to make decisions based on local priorities and needs,” the advisory said.
Quinton Hitchcock, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Education, said Walters had legal authority to issue the rule under three state statutes related to district budgeting and financial reporting. None of those laws mention student meals.
Hitchcock did not answer additional emailed questions from Education Week about the timing of the rule and whether Walters supports the community eligibility provision. He also did not reply to a question about how data collected from the petition—signers’ names, email addresses, and ZIP codes—would be used and whether they would be used for political purposes.
Oklahoma districts spent about $440 million on student nutrition in the 2023-24 school year, state data show. Most of that, $311 million, was covered by federal grants and reimbursements, some of which were targeted to personnel development and equipment. About $3 million came from the state, and the rest came from meal fees, a la carte sales, and sales of meals to staff and visiting adults, the Oklahoma Voice reported.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reimburses schools 42 cents per lunch and 39 cents for breakfasts for students who don’t qualify for subsidized free or reduced-cost meals. Under Walters’ plan, districts would have to cover the remaining costs on their own.
Leaders warn new costs could lead to cuts to other programs
District leaders, facing a perfect storm of financial challenges, said they could not meet the new mandate without a dramatic restructuring of their budgets.
Even if the 8,000-student Deer Creek district eliminated its superintendent and all its principals, it would still be $4.5 million short, Superintendent Jason Perez told KOCO News.
“I just don’t want [parents] to be confused and thinking that this is going to happen or to be angry that this didn’t happen, that they were promised something that realistically isn’t going to come to fruition,” Perez said.
Proponents of universal free school meals said Walters had the right vision but the wrong strategy.
Nine states require schools to serve free meals to all students, but those policies came with boosts in state funding and assistance in enrolling qualifying schools in the community eligibility program. Without those additional resources, the Oklahoma directive “places an enormous burden on school districts and will likely force them to divert resources from other critical areas just to cover meal costs,” said Alexis Bylander, policy child nutrition programs and policy director for the Food Research & Action Center, an organization that advocates for universal free school meals.
Oklahoma Democratic state lawmakers who’ve unsuccessfully pushed for free-meal bills urged Walters to work with the legislature rather than issuing a mandate on his own.
“I have filed and cosponsored legislation, cohosted bipartisan interim studies, published op-eds, and held countless meetings all toward the goal of expanding the free lunch program in our schools, and I am glad someone in statewide leadership is finally listening to me,” Democratic state Rep. Annie Menz said in a statement. She called for “lasting budget solutions” to help schools pay for meals costs.
Directors of school meal programs—which operate on tight margins and face financial challenges related to inflation, new federal rules, and staffing costs—said Walters had thrown them a double whammy by asking them to cover full meal costs while also calling for costly new nutrition mandates.
“Mandating these changes without supporting infrastructure or funding risks overburdening already strained schools and child nutrition departments, and potentially reduces access to meals altogether if programs cannot remain compliant,” the School Nutrition Association of Oklahoma said in a statement.
