HB 2096 Summary

• Schools must ensure pupils with unpaid meal fees are not shamed, treated differently, or served different meals than peers without debt, except for special dietary or religious accommodations.

• School personnel cannot use disciplinary action to deny or delay meals meeting nutrition standards to any pupil.

• Schools cannot require pupils to perform chores or work in exchange for meals or to pay meal debts.

• Schools must notify parents within 10 days of negative meal account balances and must first exhaust options to directly certify pupils for free/reduced meals before sending notification.

• Schools may only collect unpaid meal fees directly from parents and cannot use debt collectors; schools may establish meal fee debt funds from donations to cover outstanding pupil meal debts.