Ford tabs restoring universal meals as priority for Nevada schools

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford speaks during an event held to announce his campaign for Nevada governor, Monday, July 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. Photo by: Wade Vandervort

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford’s education platform, if he is elected governor, includes free school meals for all students. 

Not only would guaranteed school meals save families money, but food is necessary, Ford said in an interview today in advance of the release of his education plan. Feeding schoolchildren is one of his top priorities. 

“I grew up eating stale candy bars for dinner and taking some of those stale candy bars to lunch. I know what it's like to be hungry in the classroom and having a hard time learning,” Ford said. “And I've been a teacher. I've taught those students who've likewise been hungry and had a hard time learning.” 

Universal free breakfast and lunch has been a recurring theme in Carson City in recent years. Federal pandemic relief funds temporarily made meals free regardless of family income, but Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed a 2023 bill to extend the program using state funds. He cited food waste and other programs addressing food insecurity in his veto. A similar bill in 2025 didn't make it out of committee. 

Ford, a Democrat, will have to win the primary in June to take on incumbent Lombardo, the presumptive Republican candidate. If he succeeds, he has a wide education and child wellness plan with specific focus on free meals, online safety and supporting union apprenticeships and job training for young Nevadans who do not attend college. 

“We know that these programs can produce high-paying, quality jobs, and they can bring opportunities for the dignity and respect that's associated with the job to these students,” he said. 

In the preschool-through-high school space, Ford also said he broadly supports:  

• expanded career and technical education, to include AI literacy and high-tech careers  
• improved literacy rates achieved through reading specialists in every elementary school in the state 
• expanded early childhood education 
• better pay for school support staff 
• training and retaining educators, to include counselors 
• smaller class sizes 
• improved attendance 
• stronger student behavioral standards 
• streamlined testing 
• a statewide appointed parents council 
• a promise to continue standing up for federal funding 

He said Lombardo, though vocal about education reforms, has not made progress during his term. He pointed to Nevada’s stubbornly low rankings: 46th in education outcomes and 47th in child well-being according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2025 Kids Count report, and low proficiency in elementary school reading and math. 

“Despite all of that, Joe Lombardo continues to support Donald Trump's plan to, for example, eliminate the Department of Education and to cut federal funding for Nevada schools,” he said. “I went to court to protect that billion dollars a year that we received from the federal Department of Education, a Department of Education which, incidentally, provides opportunities for students who come from less affluent neighborhoods. I was one of those kids.” 

Ford, who has three education degrees and taught math in public schools before becoming a lawyer, participated in the federally funded Project Upward Bound, a college preparatory program for first-generation and low-income high schoolers. 

He said he wants all children to have the opportunities he had. 

“I just fundamentally believe that every student throughout our entire state, irrespective of where they live, deserves a high-quality education that is going to prepare them for careers or for college,” he said.