CT SB01217

Local and regional boards of education would be required to establish school lunch programs and prohibited from charging students for school lunches, breakfasts, or other child feeding programs, effective July 1, 2025

Free meals would be provided to all students rather than only to children who qualify based on economic need under federal standards

State Board of Education would be mandated to annually provide grants to local/regional boards of education, the Technical Education and Career System, and governing authorities of charter schools, magnet schools, and endowed academies participating in the National School Lunch Program

State funding would include federal matching requirements plus at least ten cents per lunch served in the prior school year

Existing provisions requiring policies on collecting unpaid meal charges and prohibiting student shaming for meal debt would be repealed as no longer necessary