20-Minute School Lunch Rule in WA: Great for Students, Bad for Schools?

More than once my child would tell me they skipped lunch today because the lunchline was too long and they figured by the time they got their food, lunch would end and they'd be ushered to the next class.

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This idea is about to come to an end thanks to a new rule set by the Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

At least on an elementary school level.

King 5 is reporting there is going to be a 20-minute minimum lunch rule that requires that all students have at least 20 minutes to eat their lunch .

This means that if you're the last kid in line waiting for your lunch, by the time you get it and sit down you have a minimum of 20 minutes without school bells and administrators telling you to hurry up because class is about to start because it's not your fault the lunch line was too long and you happen to be last in line.

How will the schools adapt to this new rule?

No doubt there'll be some pushback as some staff at elementary schools probably already seemed rushed as it is to feed the kids in a timely manor. Even if they were to add on an extra 10 minutes to the scheduled lunch time it would throw off the rest of the schedule to accommodate this new rule.

This is along with their 30 minute lunch recess.

I'm sure the kids aren't complaining. I remember my kids telling me there never seemed to be enough time to eat lunch. Since I wasn't there to witness I always figured they were trying to eat and chat at the same time and get sidetracked as my kids often did, but this may not always be the case for many.

Schools will have time to come up with some plans as this isn't going into effect anytime soon. The first school year this new 20-minute lunch rule will take effect will be the 2029 through 2030 school year for elementary schools across Washington State.