Seattle high school students walk out in protest of new lunch policy

Hundreds of Seattle Public Schools students walked out of their classes Monday morning and gathered outside of district headquarters to push back against a new lunch policy.

Less than two weeks into the 2025-2026 school year, the district informed students and families that all comprehensive high schools would split mealtimes into two 30-minute lunch periods, with some students in one period and others in the other. That's a change from a single, shared 30-minute period. Students who talked to KUOW said the new policy would separate friend groups, interfering with the social aspect of lunch, and make it harder for classmates to interact.

The new policy affects several high schools, including Ingraham, Ballard, Garfield, Lincoln, Nathan Hale, Roosevelt, and West Seattle.

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During Monday's protest, students waved signs with messages like "Give us our lunch back" and "Students know best" as speakers led the crowd in chants of "One lunch."

Students often use the lunch break from instruction to host club meetings; the district has suggested they move those meetings before or after school. But Hannah Evans, a sophomore at Lincoln High School, said that isn't realistic.

"I'm in jazz and vocal jazz before school, and I have volleyball every day after school," Evans said. "I know a lot of other students are also in the same position."

Under the new policy, Evans is worried Lincoln's community and culture could be affected, especially affinity groups like the Black Student Union.

Ingraham High student Analeigh Keppel-Power said the switch to two lunches would also affect academics. The junior is in an advanced math class and said she often used lunch to catch up on work.

"Sometimes we can use that lunch time to do test corrections and ask for help with our homework, which sometimes we don't have class time to do," Keppel-Power said.

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Seattle Public Schools has said the rule change is necessary to bring the affected schools into compliance with new state laws that regulate instruction and meal times. Shifting to two lunch periods could also reduce long lunch lines and support culinary staff, the district contends.

Posy Taylor, another junior at Ingraham, said the switch is simply "annoying."

"A lot of the teachers that we want to talk to during lunch aren't going to be available, because they'll be teaching another class while we have lunch," Taylor said.

Owen Lindeloff watched Monday's protest with his classmate, Ruby Strauss. Both are sophomores at Lincoln High. Lindeloff said he was contemplating starting a hiking club at school, but with other after-school commitments like Ultimate Frisbee practice and the new lunch policy, he might have to put his plans on hold.

"It might have been fine if they'd have done this at the end of last school year," Lindeloff said. "But doing it two weeks into this school year, no one was prepared. No one is able to change when their clubs are meeting."

A spokesperson for the district told KUOW in an emailed statement that schools have until Oct. 6 to adjust lunch schedules.

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Correction notice, Tuesday, 9/16/2025 at 4:10 p.m.: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the new policy was a change from one hour-long lunch period. Students previously had one shared 30-minute lunch period. The new policy splits students into two groups for two separate 30-minute periods.