More than one-quarter of public schools now offer all students free school meals through state or local initiatives

Latest NCES data highlight public school activities to provide well-rounded education in the 2024-25 school year

The latest School Pulse Panel (SPP) data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the statistical division of the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, show that an increased number of public schools now operate school meal programs through state or local initiatives, offering all students free lunches and breakfasts. As of school year 2024-25, 29 percent of schools offer these programs, up from 21 percent in October 2022.

Overall, 91 percent of public schools participate in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) meal programs, an increase from the 2022-23 school year (88 percent). Another 4 percent allow students to purchase meals outside the USDA program. Among schools providing meals, 67 percent collected household applications for free- or reduced-price meals, though 55 percent of these schools (39 percent of all schools) identified parent reluctance to submit applications as a challenge. Other operational hurdles included food service staff shortages (reported by 38 percent of all schools).

“The latest School Pulse Panel data show that 29 percent of public schools are offering free meals to all students through state or local initiatives for the 2024-25 school year, up from 21 percent in October 2022,” NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr said. “Additionally, 91 percent of public schools are participating in USDA meal programs this school year, up from 88 percent in 2022-23. Our data illustrate how partnerships across local, state and federal levels are playing a key role in providing students access to nutrition in schools.”

In addition to offering meals, schools are also providing opportunities for students to participate in arts and physical education programming. Arts education is a component of the curriculum in the majority of public schools, with 73 percent requiring students to take at least one class in music, visual arts, media arts, dance, or drama/theater. Art courses most commonly offered during the 2024-25 school year are music (84 percent) and visual arts (82 percent). Other areas, such as media arts (42 percent), drama/theater (26 percent), and dance (13 percent), are less common.

Approximately 43 percent of schools provide three or more standalone courses in the arts, while 7 percent report having no standalone arts classes at all. Beyond the regular school day, 79 percent of public schools offer arts instruction through extracurricular activities.

Physical education and student activity initiatives were also reported as common components in the curriculum. Most public schools (92 percent) offer physical education courses across all grades and about three-quarters (78 percent) allocate a dedicated budget for physical education materials and equipment.

Beyond traditional classes, 71 percent of schools incorporate physical activity during the school day, outside of the physical education courses, and 85 percent offer opportunities for physical activity outside of structured courses during the school day. Of public schools, 19 percent have a written plan for providing opportunities for student physical activity throughout the day.

Thirty-five percent of schools participate in one or more National Park Service (NPS) programs during the 2024-25 school year. These programs include ranger-led field trips to national parks or historic sites (13 percent), the use of NPS online resources such as live webcams and lesson plans (10 percent), and self-guided trips (8 percent). In addition, some schools hosted NPS rangers in classrooms (6 percent) or engaged in interactive distance learning with NPS staff (5 percent). Pre-recorded lessons from NPS were utilized by 3 percent of schools.

The findings are part of an experimental data product from the SPP, which surveys public K-12 schools on high-priority education-related topics once a month during the school year. The SPP data, collected Nov. 12 to 26, 2024, came from 1,599 participating public K-12 schools from every state and the District of Columbia.

Additional data collected from 103 public K-12 schools in the U.S. Outlying Areas – American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands – are also available. Results from this collection include the finding that 55 percent of Outlying Area public schools require students at their school to take at least one music, visual arts, media arts, dance, or drama/theater (performing or visual arts) class while enrolled at their school.

Experimental data products are innovative statistical tools created using new data sources or methodologies. Experimental data may not meet all NCES’s quality standards but are of sufficient benefit to data users, in the absence of other relevant products, to justify release. NCES clearly identifies experimental data products upon their release.

All data can be found on the School Pulse Panel Dashboard.

Key Findings

Food and Nutrition

• Of public schools, 29 percent operate a school meal program through a state or local initiative that offers all students free lunches and/or breakfasts, an increase from 21 percent in October 2022.
• Of public schools, 91 percent reported participating in USDA meal programs for the 2024-25 school year (92 percent participated in 2023-24; 88 percent participated in 2022-23). Meanwhile, 4 percent of public schools reported that students could buy meals at school but not as part of the USDA school meal program.
• Of schools that provide meals to students, 67 percent collected household applications for free- or reduced-price school meals for the 2024-25 school year.
• Of the 95 percent of public schools that provided a school meal program to students at their school, the top challenges they reported in operating their school meal programs for the 2024-25 school year were:
  • Convincing parents to submit applications for free- or-reduced price meals (39 percent of all schools)
    • Among the 67 percent of schools that reported they collected household applications for free- or reduced-price school meals, 55 percent reported a challenge convincing parents to submit applications for free- or-reduced price meals.
  • School food service staff shortages (38 percent of all schools).

Physical Education Programming

• Of public schools, 19 percent have a written plan (sometimes referred to as a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program) for providing opportunities for students to be physically active before, during, and after school.
• Of public schools, 78 percent have a dedicated budget for physical education materials and equipment.
  • Compared to the national percentage (78 percent), a higher percentage of schools have a dedicated budget for physical education materials in schools in the Northeast (93 percent), with 1,000 or more students (88 percent), with 500–999 students (87 percent), in suburban areas (84 percent), and with a student body made up of less than 25 percent students of color (84 percent).
  • Compared to the national percentage (78 percent), a lower percentage of schools have a dedicated budget for physical education materials in schools with fewer than 300 students (65 percent), in high-poverty neighborhoods (70 percent), in the West (70 percent), and with a student body made up of greater than 75 percent students of color (71 percent).
• Of public schools, 92 percent have a physical education course taught in all grades with enrolled students, and 97 percent have a physical education course taught in at least one grade.
  • Compared to the national percentage (92 percent), a higher percentage of schools have a physical education course taught in all grades with enrolled students in the Northeast (98 percent), with 300–499 students (97 percent), and in elementary schools (96 percent).
  • Compared to the national percentage (92 percent), a lower percentage of schools have a physical education course taught in all grades with enrolled students in high/secondary schools (82 percent), in the West (85 percent), and with fewer than 300 students (85 percent).
• Of public schools, 71 percent reported teachers at their school incorporate physical activity in their classes during the school day, outside of physical education courses.
• Of public schools, 85 percent offer opportunities for students to be physically active during the school day, outside of physical education courses and classroom physical activity.

Arts Education Programming

• Of public schools, 73 percent require students at their school to take at least one music, visual arts, media arts, dance, or drama/theater (performing or visual arts) class while enrolled at their school.
• Of public school leaders, 55 percent reported that support for arts instruction at their school including funding, facilities, materials, equipment, tools, and instruments were adequate and 21 percent reported these supports were inadequate.
  • Compared to the national percentage (55 percent), a higher percentage of school leaders reported that supports were adequate in schools with 1,000 or more students (74 percent), in the Northeast (67 percent) and with a student body made up of less than 25 percent students of color (63 percent).
  • Compared to the national percentage (55 percent), a lower percentage of school leaders reported that support was adequate in cities (46 percent) and the West (46 percent).

• Of public schools, 79 percent report providing one or more arts instruction activities outside of the regular school day during the 2024-25 school year.

NPS Education Programming

• Of public schools, 35 percent will or have participated in one or more of the following NPS programs during the 2024-25 school year:
  • Field trip to an NPS location such as a national park or a national historic site with a ranger-led program (13 percent)
  • NPS online resources/materials such as, live webcams, lesson plans, and resource kits (10 percent)
  • Self-guided field trip to NPS location such as national parks and national historic sites (8 percent)
  • NPS ranger visiting classrooms at the school (6 percent)
  • Online, interactive distance learning with an NPS ranger (5 percent)
  • NPS pre-recorded online lessons (3 percent)
• Public schools reported interest in the following NPS educational programs for their school:
  • NPS ranger visiting classrooms at the school (92 percent)
  • NPS online resources/materials such as, live webcams, lesson plans, and resource kits (91 percent)
  • Field trip to an NPS location such as a national park or a national historic site with a ranger-led program (90 percent)
  • Online, interactive distance learning with an NPS ranger (88 percent)
  • NPS pre-recorded online lessons (81 percent)
  • Self-guided field trip to NPS location such as national parks and national historic sites (78 percent)

Daily Attendance

• The average daily student attendance at public schools during this month’s collection window, as reported by school leaders, was 92 percent.

Technical Note

Statistics from sample surveys are subject to sampling and non-sampling error. All comparisons in this statistical press release have been tested and found to be statistically significant unless otherwise noted. NCES statistical tests are generally conducted at a 95 percent level of confidence. Additional details regarding the methodology, including the survey questionnaire, can be found on the School Pulse Panel methodology web page.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, is the statistical center of the U.S. Department of Education and the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the United States and other nations. NCES fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report complete statistics on the condition and progress of American education; conduct and publish reports; and review and report on education activities internationally.

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The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the independent and nonpartisan statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education. Its mission is to provide scientific evidence on which to ground education practice and policy and to share this information in formats that are useful and accessible to educators, parents, policymakers, researchers, and the public.