Every student in Spring ISD will eat breakfast and lunch free starting Wednesday, Aug. 12, the first day of school. No application required.
But there's a catch families need to know: this is the final year the district's current free-meals authorization lasts. The district says completing the annual student update helps establish whether Spring ISD can requalify for the program in 2027-28, keeping meals free for students across all 41 campuses.
Superintendent Kregg Cuellar's district operates under the federal Community Eligibility Program, which allows high-need districts to serve every student free meals without collecting individual applications. The program eliminates paperwork and the stigma some students feel when classmates pay while they don't.
The district's current CEP cycle expires after this school year, according to an announcement published Monday, Aug. 10, authored by Pete Lares for Spring ISD Child Nutrition. To requalify, the district must demonstrate that enough households meet federal income thresholds. That data comes from one place: the annual student update families complete online.
What families need to do
Parents and guardians who have not yet finished the annual student update for the 2026-27 school year should do so as soon as possible at www.springisd.org/returning-students. The update collects household income information the district uses to establish CEP eligibility.
No specific deadline has been announced, but the district urged families to act immediately.
Families whose income qualifies them for free or reduced-price meals may also unlock additional benefits, including discounted SAT, ACT and AP testing fees and reduced college application costs. The free and reduced-price meal application is available separately at schoolcafe.com.
No lunch forms needed this year
Under CEP, the district does not collect meal applications at all. Every student at every campus eats free regardless of family income. Parents can still use SchoolCafe to view menus and load money for à la carte purchases.
For questions, Spring ISD Child Nutrition can be reached at 281-891-6445 or at springisd.org/page/child-nutrition.
The annual student update at www.springisd.org/returning-students is the single step families can take to help the district demonstrate it still qualifies for free meals in 2027-28.
