Free School Lunches and Chronic Absenteeism in Oregon

• In Event: Perspectives on the Effects of Universal School Meal Programs on Students and Their Communities

Abstract

In 2013, the United States Department of Agriculture implemented a policy to expand access to zero-cost lunches in schools: the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). Under the CEP policy, schools and districts in which over 40% of students are ex-ante eligible for free and reduced price lunch (FRPL) may opt to provide free lunch to all students. The federal government then reimburses districts for the partial cost of these lunches, thus subsidizing students that would not have otherwise been eligible for FRPL. Although the CEP was not implemented specifically to address chronic absenteeism, it is easy to understand why providing free lunches may induce students to attend school at higher rates: the extension of free school lunch to more students functions as a financial incentive to those students and their families.

Oregon schools face high rates of chronic absenteeism: 24.7% of students missed at least 10% of available school days in the 2017-18 academic year, more than any other state except Alaska and 61.1% more than the U.S. average of 15.3%. Given the large margin for improvement, Oregon provides the ideal context in which the CEP might induce additional attendance. I use publicly-available data from the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and, despite this potential, estimate a precise null effect of free school lunches on the probability of regularly attending school. Participation in the CEP program reduces chronic absenteeism by at most 1.1 percentage points. However, it may still be the case that free lunch promotes attendance on the intensive margin but that this increased attendance does not manifest in students crossing the extensive margin of the chronic absenteeism threshold.

Author

• Richard A Uhrig, Bureau of Labor Statistics
  Presenting Author