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Committee hears bill to keep school meals for students with IEPs through age 22
Summary
Lawmakers and witnesses debated HB 1574, a bill to ensure students who remain enrolled under an IEP past their 21st birthday retain access to free and reduced‑price meals. DOE staff warned federal USDA rules limit eligibility to age 21 and said implementing a state reimbursement requires new verification processes and staff, raising the fiscal note.
Representative Weinstein introduced HB 1574 on Jan. 14, a proposal to ensure students with individualized education programs (IEPs) who remain enrolled past age 21 keep access to school meal benefits while in public school. Weinstein told the House Education Funding Committee the bill is meant to close an “oversight” created when federal USDA rules change meal eligibility at age 21 while state special‑education enrollment can extend to 22. He cited a fiscal note that lists 118 students potentially affected and said the goal is fairness and basic dignity: “No young person … should be expected to learn, work and grow on an empty stomach.”
Why it matters: Advocates and parents told the committee that meals reduce hunger, support classroom learning and can keep high‑need students in school. Several members asked whether a small…
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