S425 requires every public school district in South Carolina to annually identify how many of its students live in poverty (using criteria such as eligibility for Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, or being homeless/foster/transient) and expand access to free school meals for those students. It also mandates that districts ensure families get the application materials and help completing them, forbid penalizing students who can’t pay meal debts (e.g., by denying graduation or extracurriculars), and requires school boards to participate in the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) unless that would create a financial hardship.

The South Carolina State House of Representatives passed S425 on April 30, 2025 by a vote of 94 to 15. We have assigned pluses to the nays because feeding—and educating—children is the responsibility of parents, not government. This bill grows the unconstitutional welfare state by using taxpayer dollars to provide “free” meals, further entrenching debt, dependency, and poverty. It also advances the UN’s Agenda 2030 “Zero Hunger” initiative, which promotes state control over “food security”—something that is not the responsibility of government. Neither Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution nor any other provision grants the federal government authority to run social-welfare programs, and government schools should not push social-welfare programs on people. By subsidizing families rather than encouraging self-reliance, S425 deepens dependence on government and expands the already failing, compulsory K-12 system.