Bill > HB703

This bill requires all school districts participating in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) meal programs to adopt comprehensive policies that protect students from meal-related stigma and financial penalties. Specifically, the bill prohibits schools from denying meals to students with unpaid balances, taking away already-served food, identifying or stigmatizing students with meal debt, limiting student participation in school activities due to unpaid meal balances, requiring students to work to pay for meals, using collection agencies for meal debt, or charging additional fees for unpaid meals. The bill also mandates that schools develop outreach plans to help parents apply for free and reduced-price meal programs and accept voluntary donations to alleviate meal debt. Notably, the bill requires the state Department of Education to pay for all school meal debts accrued by students in USDA National School Lunch program schools by the end of each fiscal year. While the bill appropriates only $1 for this purpose for the biennium ending June 30, 2026, the fiscal note suggests the actual cost could be over $2.5 million annually. The legislation aims to ensure that no student goes hungry due to their family's financial circumstances and will take effect on July 1, 2025.

Education

https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=0431&sy=2025&sortoption=&txtsessionyear=2025&txtbillnumber=HB703