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NOTE: Data are for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Low-poverty schools are defined as public schools where 25.0 percent or less of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL); mid-low poverty schools are those where 25.1 to 50.0 percent of the students are eligible for FRPL; mid-high poverty schools are those where 50.1 to 75.0 percent of the students are eligible for FRPL; and high-poverty schools are those where more than 75.0 percent of the students are eligible for FRPL. Data include students whose National School Lunch Program eligibility has been determined through direct certification, which is a “process conducted by the states and by local educational agencies (LEAs) to certify eligible children for free meals without the need for household applications” (https://www.fns.usda.gov/direct-certification-national-school-lunch-program-report-congress-state-implementation-progress-1). For more information on eligibility for FRPL and its relationship to poverty, see the NCES blog post “Free or reduced price lunch: A proxy for poverty?” The FRPL counts show large shifts in the last several years in some states. Based on state explanations, one reason for these changes was due to the Seamless Summer Option (beginning October 1, 2020), which allowed schools to provide meals to all students, regardless of demonstrated need (https://ies.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2023152). Data are missing for Alaska. Students in schools with missing FRPL data are not included in this figure. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail does not sum to 100 percent because of rounding and because students in schools with missing FRPL data are not included in this figure. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), “Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey,” 2021–22; and Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates (EDGE), “Public School File,” 2020–21. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, table 216.60.
NOTE: Data are for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Low-poverty schools are defined as public schools where 25.0 percent or less of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL); mid-low poverty schools are those where 25.1 to 50.0 percent of the students are eligible for FRPL; mid-high poverty schools are those where 50.1 to 75.0 percent of the students are eligible for FRPL; and high-poverty schools are those where more than 75.0 percent of the students are eligible for FRPL. Data include students whose National School Lunch Program eligibility has been determined through direct certification, which is a “process conducted by the states and by local educational agencies (LEAs) to certify eligible children for free meals without the need for household applications” (https://www.fns.usda.gov/direct-certification-national-school-lunch-program-report-congress-state-implementation-progress-1). For more information on eligibility for FRPL and its relationship to poverty, see the NCES blog post “Free or reduced price lunch: A proxy for poverty?” The FRPL counts show large shifts in the last several years in some states. Based on state explanations, one reason for these changes was due to the Seamless Summer Option (beginning October 1, 2020), which allowed schools to provide meals to all students, regardless of demonstrated need (https://ies.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2023152). Data are missing for Alaska. Students in schools with missing FRPL data are not included in this figure. Excludes students in schools with missing locale information. Detail does not sum to 100 percent because of rounding and because students in schools with missing FRPL data are not included in this figure. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), “Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey,” 2021–22; and Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates (EDGE), “Public School File,” 2020–21. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, table 216.60.
1 The United States is defined as the 50 states and the District of Columbia in this indicator.
2 Students in households with incomes under 185 percent of the poverty threshold are eligible for FRPL under the NSLP. In addition, some groups of children—such as foster children, children participating in the Head Start and Migrant Education programs, and children receiving services under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act—are assumed to be categorically eligible to participate in the NSLP. Data include students whose NSLP eligibility has been determined through direct certification, which is a “process conducted by the states and by local educational agencies (LEAs) to certify eligible children for free meals without the need for household applications” (https://www.fns.usda.gov/direct-certification-national-school-lunch-program-report-congress-state-implementation-progress-1). Also, under the Community Eligibility Provision, some children in households with incomes above 185 percent of the poverty threshold who attend school in a low-income area may participate if the district decides that it would be more efficient to provide free lunch to all children in the school. For more information, see https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp.
3 For more information on eligibility for FRPL and its relationship to poverty, see the NCES blog post “Free or reduced price lunch: A proxy for poverty?”
4 In fall 2021, information on school poverty level was not available for around 4 percent of public school students. This included students attending schools for which information on FRPL was missing and students attending schools that did not participate in the NSLP.
5 Data are missing for Alaska.
6 Analysis of the prior decade does not include data for fall 2020.
7 The FRPL counts show large shifts in the last several years in some states. Based on state explanations, one reason for these changes was due to the Seamless Summer Option (beginning October 1, 2020), which allowed schools to provide meals to all students, regardless of demonstrated need (https://ies.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2023152).
8 Although the percentage of students of Two or more races who attended mid-high poverty schools was also higher than the national average (though both rounded to 22 percent), the percentage of students of Two or more races who attended high-poverty schools was lower than the national average.
9 Data exclude students in schools with missing locale information.
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