President Donald Trump decided to call a state of emergency, amidst avoiding another government shutdown to get what he has been asking for — a wall.

There is something students should know about what happens to schools when the government shuts down. 

There are “1,200 school districts on federal land [that] will be immediately impacted by a government shutdown,” according to the National Center for Learning Disabilities. 

While the schools are lacking funding, so are some military bases and Native American reservations. 

Shutdowns like these also affect student loans, which immediately affect students’ abilities to pay for college. 

Money from the government is allocated toward low-cost or free lunches for children in need. 

Although they are funded until March, according to CNN, “schools and families are worried about what could happen to school mean programs if [the shutdown] continues.” 

“Certainly, some schools and some school districts are likely to stop serving meals to hungry kids or make the meals worse or smaller or less nutritious,” said James Weill, president of nonprofit Food Research and Action Center. “Other school districts will try and pick up the costs locally and hope that they’ll get paid back from the federal government.” 

It is important for students to understand the consequences of decisions made by the U.S. government, as well as knowing the facts and statistics of who is affected. 

Students need to be aware of current events to make informed decisions when voting for who will be running the country in the future and who will be representing your state in the House of Representatives and the Senate. 

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