First in the nation: All California students get a free lunch -- and breakfast

School is back in session across Southern California, and students are finding two pleasant surprises – later start times for middle and high school students and free meals, regardless of their families' incomes.

California is first in the nation to implement such pro-student changes, which take effect for the 2022-23 school year.

A law passed in 2019 requiring middle schools to start classes after 8 a.m., and high schools to start after 8:30 a.m. Parents and student advocates had long pushed for such a change – to help with commutes and nightly homework, and give students more sleep so they can be more alert during school hours.

California's Universal Meals Program, however, is a pandemic change that's here to stay. During the pandemic, Southern California schools scrambled to help keep children fed even as campuses were closed and students were forced to learn virtually, from home, where many parents were left stranded without jobs because of mass layoffs.

The program requires all of California's public school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools serving students from transitional kindergarten through 12th grade to provide two free meals on each school day to any student asking for a meal, regardless of their free or reduced-price meal eligibility.

The onset of the pandemic also moved public transportation officials to help students get to school as easily as possible. LAUSD students, whose first day of school is Monday, will be able to continue taking Metro free to school through at least next summer. The program allowing students to ride Metro free was a pilot program also approved in the midst of the pandemic to help low-income students. Since then, it has been replicated in other areas, such as Orange County, where a program offering free rides to all youths ages 6 to 18 has been made permanent.