The House Education Committee voted 8‑4, with two members absent, to recommend a “do not pass” on House Bill 1333, a proposal that would have required students to receive a 30‑minute lunch break during the school day. The hearing and subsequent vote took place during the committee’s session in Bismarck.

Representative Matt Heilman, sponsor of HB1333, told the panel the bill was prompted by a constituent whose children attend Legacy High School in Bismarck and said the measure would guarantee “a student gets half hour lunchtime per day” within a mid‑day window. Heilman said the bill would place the half‑hour lunch roughly within a 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. window and acknowledged the proposal is “a one‑size‑fits‑all kind of solution” with flaws that he hoped would prompt discussion.

The bill drew opposition from a representative of the North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders, who said schools should retain authority to set lunch schedules. Testifying against the bill, the witness — a longtime principal who did not give a full name on the record — said students often finish eating in “5 to 10 minutes” and that mandating a 30‑minute lunch would create scheduling and supervision problems for many districts. The witness added that in some districts a longer unstructured lunch period had been associated with an increase in discipline incidents.

Committee members pressed both practical and policy questions. Members noted that some high schools use a mod schedule that breaks the day into 20‑minute segments, producing days when some students receive only 20 minutes for lunch. Heilman described Legacy’s mod schedule and said the current arrangement can leave “well over a 100 people in the lunchroom at the same time,” creating long lines and little time to eat.

Opponents and several committee members raised concerns about local control, staff availability for supervision and the logistical difficulty of reworking schedules. A witness described Dickinson School District’s experience, saying staff shortages had forced administrators to recruit teachers to provide lunch supervision. Several representatives, including Conmey and Haddleston, said those local scheduling constraints argued against a state mandate.

After public testimony and committee discussion, Representative Hager moved the committee adopt a recommendation of “do not pass” on HB1333. Representative Haddleston seconded the motion. The motion carried on a roll call with eight voting yes (Chair, Vice Chair Schreiberbeck, Representative Conmey, Hager, Haddleston, Jonas, Longyear and Mackie) and four voting no (Heilman, Marshall, Morton and Osowski); two members were recorded absent. Committee members then selected Representative Mackie as the bill’s carrier for the next step.

The committee’s action stops HB1333 from moving forward favorably from the Education Committee at this time. Proponents said the bill was intended to address what they described as too‑short lunch periods at some high schools; opponents said scheduling, supervision and local control concerns make a statewide 30‑minute requirement unworkable.

The committee chair closed the hearing on House Bill 1333 and moved on to other agenda items.