SB 1720 Summary

• District school boards participating in the National School Lunch Program must provide meals to any student who requests one, regardless of ability to pay or unpaid meal charges.

• Students cannot be required to destroy or dispose of a meal due to unpaid charges, unless a parent or guardian has given written permission to withhold the meal.

• District school boards must adopt policies protecting students with unpaid meal charges from public identification or stigmatization.

• For students with $10 or more in unpaid charges, school districts must determine free or reduced-price meal eligibility and make at least two contact attempts to parents or guardians to assist with application completion.

• District school boards are encouraged to provide universal, free school breakfast meals to all students in elementary, middle, and high schools; universal breakfast is mandatory in schools where 80 percent or more of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals unless the board votes otherwise after public hearings.