<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0eEg0G_0zgFNs0400" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0eEg0G_0zgFNs0400" width="1920" height="1080" >OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction has approved a rule requiring districts to give kindergarten through fifth-grade students “…the opportunity to eat lunch for a minimum of 20 minutes, once the students have received their food” from the lunch line.The rule will give students the expert-recommended 20 minutes of “seat time” to eat lunch, but it is deeply unpopular with many school administrators across Washington.To give districts time to adapt their resources and schedules, the rule does not go into effect until the 2029-2030 school year.“I don’t agree with it. I’ll be honest with you,” said Deputy Superintendent of Battle Ground Public Schools Shelly Whitten. She says some of the schools in her district in Southwest Washington already have a hard time feeding all the students on school day. The kids have 20-minute lunch periods, but that includes time standing in line and cleaning up.Whitten said adding five to 10 minutes more to lunchtime will require additional staff and cafeteria space, which will cost money the district does not have. She says the cost at one school alone will total $30,000 per year. “It definitely is an unfunded mandate,” Whitten said.Last November, the KING 5 Investigators revealed that many school districts are falling short of expert recommendations when it comes to lunch periods. The federal government and expert researchers say children should have at least 20 to 25 minutes of “seated lunch time.”But KING 5’s survey of 31 western Washington school districts showed that 21 of them had lunch breaks that were 20 minutes or less (five districts did not respond). Those times included waiting in lunch line and clean up time.At a public hearing in January, administrators from 18 school districts including Everett, Edmonds, Issaquah and Lake Washington School District opposed the rule, citing financial hardships and space limitations in school buildings.However, many parents have complained that their children do not have enough time to finish lunch at school.“I was surprised at the pushback on the school level,” said Megan Lim, one of only three parents who spoke at the January hearing. Her three elementary age children are in Seattle Public Schools.“I asked the kids, how was your school day? And all three of them spoke up at once, complaining there wasn’t enough time to eat lunch," said Lim.She approves of the new 20-minute rule but is disappointed it won’t take effect for four more years. “I’m a little concerned, actually, that this might be kicking the can down the road,” said Lim.The new rule targets elementary school students because they are the ones with the shortest lunches. State law requires that they get a half hour of uninterrupted recess each day. Also, lunch lines are longer because of increased participation in free and reduced-price meal programs. Those obstacles give elementary schools less flexibility for scheduling, so it is often the lunch periods that get pinched.KING 5 did not receive a response to numerous calls and emails seeking an interview with Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal.For Megan Lim, the new rule will come too late to help her three children.“What it means for my kids is that they are going to keep complaining about being hungry,” she said.</div></body>

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OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction has approved a rule requiring districts to give kindergarten through fifth-grade students “…the opportunity to eat lunch for a minimum of 20 minutes, once the students have received their food” from the lunch line. The rule...

Washington state imposes 20-minutes lunchtime for elementary students

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OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction has approved a rule requiring districts to give kindergarten through fifth-grade

Washington state imposes 20-minutes lunchtime for elementary students

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