HOUSE BILL NO. 2341 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE PROUDIE.
5804H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To amend chapter 191, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to breakfast served in schools.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 191, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be 2 known as section 191.820, to read as follows: 191.820. 1. As used in this section, "breakfast after the bell" means any food 2 served after the instructional day has officially begun but before any lunch period in the 3 school begins. 4 2. Except as provided in subsections 5 and 9 of this section, in school year 2026- 5 27 and each school year thereafter, the following schools shall offer breakfast after the 6 bell to each student in such school, including any student who arrives late or who arrives 7 by a different mode of transportation than most students: 8 (1) Any public school, including any charter school, in which seventy percent or 9 more of students enrolled in the school in the immediately preceding school year were 10 eligible for free or reduced price meals through the National School Lunch Program or 11 School Breakfast Program; and 12 (2) Any public school, including any charter school, that has an individual site 13 percentage for free or reduced price meals of seventy percent or more and that is a 14 Provision 2 school as described in 7 CFR Section 245.9 or that uses the United States 15 Department of Agriculture Community Eligibility Option. 16 3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit schools from providing 17 breakfast before the instructional day has officially begun.
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 2341 2
18 4. Each school required to offer breakfast after the bell under this section may 19 use any service model that best suits such school's students. Service models include, but 20 are not limited to, breakfast in the classroom, breakfast after first period, and breakfast 21 to be picked up by students so that such students can eat where and when such students 22 want. 23 5. A public school, including any charter school, in which seventy percent or 24 more of such school's students who are eligible for free or reduced price meals 25 participate in the School Breakfast Program shall not be required to offer breakfast 26 after the bell under this section. 27 6. A school initially required to offer breakfast after the bell but that later falls 28 below the seventy percent threshold described in subsection 2 of this section shall 29 continue to offer breakfast after the bell for two consecutive years beginning with the 30 year in which the school does not meet the requirements to serve breakfast after the bell 31 under subsection 2 of this section. If during the second year of the two-year period the 32 school still does not meet the requirements to serve breakfast after the bell under 33 subsection 2 of this section, the school shall not be required to offer breakfast after the 34 bell at the conclusion of the two-year period. A school no longer required to offer 35 breakfast after the bell under this subsection shall be required to again offer breakfast 36 after the bell if such school becomes subject to subsection 2 of this section. Nothing in 37 this section shall be construed to prevent a school from continuing to offer breakfast 38 after the bell even if not required to do so. 39 7. The department of elementary and secondary education shall: 40 (1) Notify, on or before July first of each year, those schools required to offer 41 breakfast after the bell under this section of such schools' duties under this section; 42 (2) Develop and distribute procedures and guidelines for the implementation of 43 this section, which shall comply with federal regulations governing the School Breakfast 44 Program; 45 (3) Offer technical assistance to public schools and school districts regarding the 46 implementation of this section; 47 (4) If requested by a school subject to this section, recognize time spent by 48 students consuming breakfast as instructional time if students consume the breakfast in 49 the classroom and are receiving instruction while consuming breakfast. No more than 50 fifteen minutes shall be recognized as instructional time while students are consuming 51 breakfast; 52 (5) Annually collect information about the breakfast after the bell delivery 53 models implemented at each school and make the information publicly available; HB 2341 3
54 (6) Assist schools subject to this section that demonstrate breakfast enrollment 55 increases of less than ten percent annually in developing a plan for increased 56 participation; and 57 (7) Prepare and submit to the general assembly, on or before December thirty- 58 first of each year, a report on the implementation and effectiveness of this section. 59 8. In fulfilling the department's responsibilities under this section, the 60 department of elementary and secondary education shall collaborate with nonprofit 61 organizations knowledgeable about equity, the opportunity gap, hunger and food 62 security issues, and best practices for improving student access to school breakfast. The 63 department shall maintain a list of opportunities for philanthropic support of school 64 breakfast programs and make the list available to schools interested in breakfast after 65 the bell programs. 66 9. If the federal per-meal reimbursements for free or reduced price breakfasts 67 are decreased below 2026 levels or eliminated by Congress, schools shall not be required 68 to offer breakfast after the bell under this section. ✔
Statutes affected: