relative to prohibiting school districts from denying meals to students with unpaid meal balances, and making an appropriation therefor.

HB 703 requires New Hampshire school districts participating in USDA meal programs to adopt policies that prevent denying meals, stigmatizing students, or restricting activities due to unpaid meal balances. It prohibits schools from withholding meals, taking served food, using identifying tokens/stickers, limiting access to events like sports or field trips, or requiring students to perform chores to pay meal debt. Schools must also develop outreach plans to encourage free/reduced-price meal applications and accept voluntary donations to reduce meal debt. The law takes effect July 1, 2025, directly affecting all public K-12 students in participating school districts.