As schools across Michigan get ready to welcome back students for the 2025-26 school year, the future of some programs supported with state-administered funds still hang in the balance.

Chiefly among them may be free meals for all students.

Michigan has funded breakfast and lunch for all public-school students, regardless of income, since the 2023-24 school year.

However, since state lawmakers, deadlocked in a divided legislature, missed a self-imposed deadline this summer for finalizing the budget , including school aid, for the 2025-26 fiscal year, the certainty of a variety of school programs remains unsettled.

Unlike local districts, which typically start their fiscal years July 1, the state’s begins Oct. 1. In an Aug. 7 memo to school leaders , State Superintendent Michael Ric

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