Bill > SCR134

This concurrent resolution urges the Hawaii Department of Education (DOE) to provide a comprehensive, detailed report to the Legislature about the true costs of producing school meals. The resolution stems from the DOE's proposed significant price increases for student lunches, which would raise prices from $2.50 to $4.75 for K-8 students and from $2.75 to $5.00 for grades 9-12 by the 2028-2029 school year, while currently citing the cost of producing a student lunch at $9.00. The resolution requests a report that includes a precise cost breakdown for the 2024-2025 school year and projections for 2025-2026 and 2026-2027, detailing specific expenses such as ingredient costs (including local sourcing), operational expenses, beverage costs, material and supply expenses, and logistical distribution costs. Additionally, the DOE is asked to provide comprehensive data on meal types, including full-price, reduced-price, and free meals, as well as federal reimbursement information. The report must be submitted no later than twenty days before the 2026 Regular Session, with the goal of ensuring transparency and preventing unnecessary price increases that could negatively impact Hawaii's working families and students who rely on school meal programs.

Education

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SCR&billnumber=134&year=2025