Universal free meals and school suspensions

Andres Cuadros‐Meñaca, Di Fang, Rodolfo M. Nayga and Michael R. Thomsen

Economic Inquiry, 2026, vol. 64, issue 3, 773-797

Abstract: We examine whether providing free school meals to all students causes changes in out‐of‐school suspensions for schools adopting those policies in the United States. Using updated data and modern difference‐in‐differences methods that account for staggered adoption, we show suspensions fall by approximately 10% in elementary schools and 6% in middle and high schools, with larger effects in schools that previously served fewer students eligible for free and reduced‐price meals in preadoption periods. These findings contrast with earlier null results, primarily due to better methods that account for staggered program adoption as opposed to the updated dataset.

Date: 2026
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