Sponsors ask committee to guarantee meals for students regardless of meal debt

Columbus — Representatives Brewer and Mohammed told the House Education Committee that House Bill 97 would require public schools to ensure students receive school meals regardless of outstanding meal debt and prohibit practices that identify or shame students for unpaid balances.

Sponsors said the bill would require schools to provide meals when requested, bar actions that might humiliate students (such as discarding a served meal, requiring a student to perform chores in lieu of payment, stamping a student or other public identification), and direct communications about meal debt to parents or guardians rather than to students.

Representatives cited state and federal food‑insecurity statistics and anecdotes of students being excluded from activities or treated differently because of small unpaid balances. Sponsors and committee members discussed the cost impact and whether the food itself would impose additional expense; witnesses said schools already prepare meals and the bill focuses on preventing the denial of meals or stigmatizing students while preserving school processes to recover unpaid balances. Sponsors said they would provide district‑level meal‑debt information to committee members upon request.

Sponsors said the bill is compatible with a longer‑term goal of universal free meals and suggested menu and preparation improvements to reduce waste and make school meals more palatable.

No vote was taken. Sponsors said they would follow up with data on meal debt at the district level and noted the bill aligns with anti‑lunch‑shaming laws enacted in other states.