By Selena La Rue Hatch
Summer is coming to a close, and teachers are preparing their classrooms, parents are back-to-school shopping, and our students are enjoying the last of summer vacation. Soon, students will be back in classrooms and the cycle of learning can begin again. Unfortunately, this year the back-to-school excitement will be hampered by an unwelcome change awaiting our kids. Thanks to an extreme veto by Governor Lombardo last session, many kids will no longer have access to the guaranteed meals that have been sustaining their learning and growth for the last four years.
For the first time in four years, parents will be asked to pay for the meals their children receive at school. If they can’t pay, which is the reality for many, kids will go hungry. Many families, like mine, had a child start school within the last 4 years and have never paid for school meals. They will be among the many who are completely blindsided by this callous veto. This is the challenge that awaits educators, families, and students returning to school next week.
Food insecurity is a real issue in our state and too many of our children are going without. One in five children in Nevada face hunger on a daily basis. Sadly, for many kids, the two meals provided at school are the only meals they’ll have all day. That’s why my Democratic colleagues and I passed a bill to permanently guarantee school breakfast and lunch at the Legislature last session. We recognize the critical importance of feeding our kids and giving them the resources (i.e. nutrition) they need for success. As a teacher, I also know kids cannot learn on empty stomachs. When schools provide the food that many students are missing at home, those children can focus on the tasks at hand.
The benefits of implementing permanent, guaranteed school meal programs are well-documented. Aside from improving diet and health, research shows these programs also reduce absenteeism, improve student behavior, eliminate social stigmas, and improve learning outcomes. Even Governor Lombardo’s K-12 audit concluded his veto was detrimental to the well-being of our students, and called on lawmakers to extend or expand the free meal program. If we want our education standings to improve, feeding our children and allowing them to focus on learning is an easy place to start.
As a teacher and legislator, I will never stop advocating for my kiddos and their basic needs and I refuse to let my students go hungry. We can and must do better. As such, in 2025, my Democratic colleagues and I will reintroduce a bill for permanent guaranteed school breakfast and lunch.
While every Assembly Republican voted against this program in 2023, I hope they will reconsider their cruelty in 2025. Similarly, I hope Governor Lombardo will recognize his mistake, and support our efforts to feed Nevada students by signing the bill into law. You cannot claim to care about the education of our children while denying them the resources they need to learn.
Selena La Rue Hatch teaches High School Social Studies in Washoe County School District. She also serves as the Assemblymember for District 25 in the Nevada Legislature.
