Education (Student Health)

By Representative Vaughn of Wrentham, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 742) of Marcus S. Vaughn for legislation to provide school districts with an option to opt out of the free school lunch. Education.

HD 70 allows school districts to opt out of the state's non-income-based free lunch program, enabling them to redirect those funds to other uses. If a district participates, parents or guardians can also opt their child out of the free lunch program, requiring the student to pay for meals at the district's set price. Schools would not count non-participating students toward funding calculations for the free lunch program, freeing up those funds for other district purposes. This bill directly affects public school districts and families with children in K-12 schools participating in the state's free lunch initiative.