OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
H.B. 408 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for H.B. 408’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsors: Reps. Brewer and Mohamed
Effective date:
Jessica Sutton, LSC Fellow
SUMMARY
 Requires each public school to provide a meal to any student who requests one.
 Prohibits certain conduct by schools toward students who cannot pay for a meal or has
meal debt.
 Requires the Department of Education to provide guidance to all districts and schools
regarding the collection of student meal debt.
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Student meals
The bill requires school districts, community schools, STEM schools, and college-
preparatory boarding schools to provide each student a meal who requests one, regardless of
whether the student can pay or owes a meal debt.1 The bill also prohibits a district or school
from: 2
1. Requiring a student to discard a meal because of the student’s inability to pay or
because the student owes a meal debt;
2. Requiring a student who cannot pay for a meal or owes a meal debt to do chores or
work to pay for meals; however, a student may be required to do chores or work if all
students are required to do so regardless of meal debt;
3. Refusing a meal to a student as a form of disciplinary action; and
1 R.C. 3313.819(A). The bill applies to community schools, STEM schools, and college-preparatory
boarding schools through cross references in R.C. 3314.03(A)(11)(d), 3326.11, and 3328.24, respectively.
2 R.C. 3313.819(B).
April 4, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
4. Publically identifying or stigmatizing a student who cannot pay for a meal or owes a
meal debt.
Communications about meal debts
The bill requires each district or school to communicate directly with a parent or
guardian, and not a student, about the student’s meal debt. However, the bill expressly permits
the district or school to answer a student’s inquiry about the student’s meal debt. The bill also
clarifies that a school may send a student home with a letter addressed to a parent or guardian
regarding an outstanding debt.3
Guidance for collecting meal debt
The bill requires the Department of Education to provide districts and schools with
guidance about collecting student meal debt. The guidance must also include best practices and
information for creating an online system for the payment of school debt. The Department
must post the guidance on its website.4
Note that H.B. 408 was drafted before the enactment, in 2023, of H.B. 33 of the 135th
General Assembly, which renamed the Department of Education to the Department of
Education and Workforce.
HISTORY
Action Date
Introduced 02-12-24
ANHB0408IN-135/ts
3 R.C. 3313.819(C).
4 R.C. 3313.819(D).
P a g e |2 H.B. 408
As Introduced


Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 3314.03, 3326.11, 3328.24