This bill amends sections of the North Dakota Century Code to ensure that all students in public and nonpublic schools receive school meals at no cost. Specifically, it modifies Section 15.1-07-38 to include nonpublic schools in the provision of free meals and mandates that these institutions adopt policies to encourage parents or guardians to apply for free or reduced meals. The bill also removes several stipulations regarding the treatment of students with unpaid meal balances, emphasizing that schools cannot deny meals or stigmatize students based on their payment status.

Additionally, the bill amends Section 21-10-13 to allocate funding from the legacy earnings fund to support the provision of school meals. It specifies that $140 million will be transferred to the Department of Public Instruction's operating fund for this purpose. The bill includes an appropriation for the Department of Public Instruction to provide grants to school districts to cover the costs of offering free meals to all students for the biennium from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2027.

Statutes affected:
INTRODUCED: 15.1-07-38, 21-10-13