House panel adopts amendment, sends universal school meals bill to Ways and Means

The House Education Committee on March 17 adopted an amendment and voted to send House Bill 3,435 — a statute requiring school districts to provide breakfast and lunch at no charge to all students — to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means with a due-pass recommendation.

The committee voted to adopt the bill’s dash‑1 amendment, which clarifies that districts are not required to participate in the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) if federal funding is not available and allows the State Board of Education to exempt schools that do not serve meals at traditional service times. The amendment also modifies the hardship exemption to require that, where financial hardship is claimed, schools must offer no-cost meals to students from households with income up to 300% of federal poverty guidelines.

Representative Vice Chair Joe Dobson moved to adopt the dash‑1 amendment and later moved HB 3,435 as amended to the floor with a due-pass recommendation and referral to Ways and Means. Committee staff summarized the measure: it requires no-cost breakfast and lunch to all students beginning in the 2026–27 school year, provides a transition period for 2025–26, and appropriates $4 million from the general fund to the Oregon Department of Education to help cover costs incurred by parents or guardians prior to the effective date for equipment purchases. The measure declares an emergency and would take effect July 1, 2025.

David Wieland of Partners for a Hunger Free Oregon answered a committee question during debate, explaining that the dash‑1 amendment was intended to ensure districts that cannot access federal funding for CEP would not be forced to participate and that existing fallback provisions would remain in place for households below 300% of federal poverty guidelines.

Committee discussion included concerns about food waste. Representative dental members noted a separate composting bill and emphasized that while the meals policy would not directly address waste, it would ensure access to nutritious meals for students who need them.

The transcript records the committee chair asking the clerk to call the roll on both the amendment and the amended bill; the chair announced, “The motion passes,” and reported that HB 3,435 will be referred to Ways and Means. The transcript does not provide a consolidated roll-call tally in numeric form in the record available here.

Why it matters: the measure would expand universal free meals statewide, changing school meal finance and operations and requiring implementation planning, equipment upgrades and a fiscal transition. The amendment clarifies how the state policy interacts with federal programs and the state board’s rulemaking authority.

Where it stands: amendment adopted; HB 3,435 as amended moved to Ways and Means with a due-pass recommendation.