I don’t think this is really about whether teenagers “deserve freedom.” It’s more about equity, safety, and school operations.

A closed lunch works at many high schools across the country, including very large schools. Schools still manage clubs, tutoring, makeup tests, rehearsals, and social spaces by staggering lunches and using classrooms, libraries, courtyards, and other areas; not just the cafeteria.

Open lunch also creates equity issues. Students with cars, money, and nearby food options have a very different experience from students who don’t. It can unintentionally highlight socioeconomic differences during the school day.

There are also real safety and supervision concerns with hundreds of students driving around or leaving campus daily: traffic accidents, truancy, vaping/substance use off campus, and difficulty accounting for students during emergencies.

And the “cafeterias are too small” argument doesn’t fully hold up because schools with 3,000 students already operate with multiple lunch waves and students spread across different spaces.

I understand why some families like open lunch, especially for older students, but schools absolutely can support clubs, test makeups, and student independence without requiring students to leave campus during the school day.

This has been discussed since at least 1999:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1999/10/16/many-schools-closing-campus-during-lunch/6ff1366d-19d2-415c-a2c6-be27177ad585/

You can’t cry about how much MCPS spends on litigation and then argue for letting thousands of teenagers roam the streets for an hour a day.

Anonymous wrote:Why can't schools bring food trucks?

Everyone was clamoring for increased security and background checks for all staff and volunteers to ensure the safety of our students but apparently none of that matters as long as the person can sell tacos in the parking lot.

Anonymous wrote:Why can't schools bring food trucks?

Equity. They also shouldn’t allow uber eats

Anonymous wrote:Short list of benefits (in no particular order and yes, I know the first one is going to create lots of conversation all of which is important but not really the topic at hand for this question):
1. Less "outside access"--meaning if kids were deemed to be safe/without weapons/drugs upon entry to school, there is no way that these things are making there way in mid day.
2. Eliminates some social pressures--to have money to buy lunch, stay off campus with friends later than you're supposed to.
3.Easier access to make up work without having to feel like you're "missing something"
4. Related to the above--truancy/attendance issues
5. Car/pedestrian safety (do we really want our kids interfacing with traffic and cars more than necessary, particularly when they may be distracted in groups or rushing?

I'm sure there are more but these are just a few that come to mind.

+100000

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're at Bethesda-Chevy Chase, for which MCPS chose not to expand the cafeteria in its previous additions to the building. It's about 8 times too small! BCC has had open lunch for decades (as in, alumni parents of current students also had open lunch), because of the convenience of downtown restaurants.

The rest of the building is quite small as well, so if everyone were to stay inside, it would get quite crowded and noisy.

The school has clubs and make-up tests during lunch, but a lot of students come and go, or just spend the entire break getting fresh air, unless the weather is awful. The restaurants and shops are glad to have the business, and in recent years there have been no significant behavioral concerns at lunchtime.

The only upside of switching to closed lunch would be to protect against a potential school shooter, honestly. Otherwise it's all downside for us.

I am strongly in favor of keeping the current policy that lets Principals choose whether to open or close lunch.

Of course there are behavioral issues.

PP you replied to. I can assure you that for businesses, the pros outweigh the cons! I had an older child at Walter Johnson, where the kids go to the Wildwood shopping center, and the businesses did complain there, after a fight broke out Amon the younger students and chairs were thrown. The Principal responded by threatening to close lunch for 9th and 10th graders, or maybe did close lunch briefly for those grades. My son was a senior when this happened, so we didn't pay much attention.

If there is a serious incident, believe me, shops don't hesitate to call the schools. They want students to be scared straight, and come back to spend money.

I work next door to BCC, and the kids I've seen have been focused on eating and chatting (at a reasonable volume) with their friends. No complaints here!

DS's school has closed lunch but there aren't really places to walk to so it's not a big deal. As long as there are places for the students to sit and the ability to serve all of the students who want to buy lunch, I prefer it this way. One benefit is that DS and his friends eat in one of his teacher's classrooms and have formed a bond with him. It's nice that they have gotten to know him as a person and not just a teacher.

Anonymous wrote:Just Whitman ruining everything for everyone but what else is new.

Actually, it was Blake that ruined it first.

Just Whitman ruining everything for everyone but what else is new.

We have closed lunch at the school I work at but lots of kids still leave. I usually leave campus to get my own lunch twice a week and will routinely cut in front of students in line to order my food. When they complain I just say, "I'm sorry I didn't see you because you aren't supposed to be here. If you have an issue, you are free to explain it to admin when you get back to school." They usually will laugh and understand. It helps that I have a generally decent relationship and reputation at my school.

At Blair, the entire school has lunch at the same time, and that's also when clubs meet.

Don't some kids go to a different high school for special programs or dual enrollment? When will they get a lunch period, at 7:15am, just so mcps can say we gave a lunch err breakfast no it's brunch no it's farms no it's....

Plenty of Blair kids visit the nearby businesses before and after school

Anonymous wrote:The benefit is not jumping into cars and speeding away.

And not being late for whatever class is after their lunch period.

We have a lot of students with an early release schedule and they jump into their cars and speed away the moment lunch starts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're at Bethesda-Chevy Chase, for which MCPS chose not to expand the cafeteria in its previous additions to the building. It's about 8 times too small! BCC has had open lunch for decades (as in, alumni parents of current students also had open lunch), because of the convenience of downtown restaurants.

The rest of the building is quite small as well, so if everyone were to stay inside, it would get quite crowded and noisy.

The school has clubs and make-up tests during lunch, but a lot of students come and go, or just spend the entire break getting fresh air, unless the weather is awful. The restaurants and shops are glad to have the business, and in recent years there have been no significant behavioral concerns at lunchtime.

The only upside of switching to closed lunch would be to protect against a potential school shooter, honestly. Otherwise it's all downside for us.

I am strongly in favor of keeping the current policy that lets Principals choose whether to open or close lunch.

Of course there are behavioral issues.

PP you replied to. I can assure you that for businesses, the pros outweigh the cons! I had an older child at Walter Johnson, where the kids go to the Wildwood shopping center, and the businesses did complain there, after a fight broke out Amon the younger students and chairs were thrown. The Principal responded by threatening to close lunch for 9th and 10th graders, or maybe did close lunch briefly for those grades. My son was a senior when this happened, so we didn't pay much attention.

If there is a serious incident, believe me, shops don't hesitate to call the schools. They want students to be scared straight, and come back to spend money.

Not at Blair. Students were banned from the stores and lunch was closed.

NP. I don't have a kid at Blair, but I do live near there and it definitely doesn't feel closed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're at Bethesda-Chevy Chase, for which MCPS chose not to expand the cafeteria in its previous additions to the building. It's about 8 times too small! BCC has had open lunch for decades (as in, alumni parents of current students also had open lunch), because of the convenience of downtown restaurants.

The rest of the building is quite small as well, so if everyone were to stay inside, it would get quite crowded and noisy.

The school has clubs and make-up tests during lunch, but a lot of students come and go, or just spend the entire break getting fresh air, unless the weather is awful. The restaurants and shops are glad to have the business, and in recent years there have been no significant behavioral concerns at lunchtime.

The only upside of switching to closed lunch would be to protect against a potential school shooter, honestly. Otherwise it's all downside for us.

I am strongly in favor of keeping the current policy that lets Principals choose whether to open or close lunch.

Of course there are behavioral issues.

PP you replied to. I can assure you that for businesses, the pros outweigh the cons! I had an older child at Walter Johnson, where the kids go to the Wildwood shopping center, and the businesses did complain there, after a fight broke out Amon the younger students and chairs were thrown. The Principal responded by threatening to close lunch for 9th and 10th graders, or maybe did close lunch briefly for those grades. My son was a senior when this happened, so we didn't pay much attention.

If there is a serious incident, believe me, shops don't hesitate to call the schools. They want students to be scared straight, and come back to spend money.

Not at Blair. Students were banned from the stores and lunch was closed.