Universal Free School Breakfast and Lunch

This bill:

• Sets up a free breakfast and lunch program for all public school kids in grades K-12

• Gets rid of old rules that only allowed certain schools to give out free meals based on how much money student families make.

• Requires school districts to join national meal programs and get as much national money for free meals as they can.

  • School districts: groups of public schools in a certain area that are run by the same local education leaders. They make decisions about school rules, teachers, money, and student programs.

• Gets rid of the parts of the law that let schools make students pay money for breakfast.

• Lets school districts run meal programs using food prep places away from the school.

• Updates the reporting and notification rules about what's available for school meals.

• Adds new and updated definitions:

  • “Community eligibility provision”: A federal program that lets schools serve free meals to all students while getting special money to do this.

  • “Eligible breakfast and lunch meals”: Meals that meet nutrition rules set by the federal government.

  • “National School Breakfast Program” and “National School Lunch Program”: Federal programs that pay for school meals.

  • “Special assistance alternative”: A way for the federal government to pay schools back for free meals that they offer to every student.

  • “Universal school breakfast and lunch program”: A new effort across the whole state of Florida giving free breakfast and lunch to all public school students, no matter how much money their family makes.

• Gets rid of the rule that schools had to set breakfast prices based on how much money they would get back from the federal government.

• Takes away old rules that let districts skip free breakfast at some schools.

• Encourages schools to serve meals in different ways (like grab-and-go or in the classroom).

  • School districts can make food at places away from the schools and send meals to different schools.

• Clarifies that all school meal programs are free and should be advertised that way

• Clarifies what schools need to write up about meal programs.

• Changes old rules and wording to match the new program that gives all students free breakfast and lunch.

If this bill passes, it will make school districts do certain things, including:

• All public schools in grades K-12 have to take part in the National School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program.

• Every student must get free breakfast and lunch (no more limits based on how much money a student’s family makes).

• School districts need to ask for all federal meal money that is available.

• Schools that can take part in the community eligibility provision must do so to get the most money they can back from the  federal government.

• Schools can’t make students pay for breakfast anymore (it is allowed sometimes now).

• Schools must make sure that students who get to school less than 15 minutes before the first bell rings have at least 15 minutes to eat breakfast.

• Schools need to give parents updated info on free school meals every year.

If this bill passes, these changes start on July 1, 2025.