LB251 LB251
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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED SIXTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 251
Introduced by Walz, 15; Crawford, 45; Howard, 9; Hunt, 8; Kolowski, 31;
Lathrop, 12; Quick, 35; Vargas, 7; Wishart, 27.
Read first time January 14, 2019
Committee: Education
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to schools; to adopt the Child Hunger and
2 Workforce Readiness Act.
3 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Sections 1 to 5 of this act shall be known and may be
2 cited as the Child Hunger and Workforce Readiness Act.
3 Sec. 2. The Legislature finds that:
4 (1) An educated and productive workforce in Nebraska is dependent
5 upon adequate preparation of its children to learn;
6 (2) Research shows that childhood hunger has lifelong and negative
7 consequences for cognition, physical and mental health, behavior, and
8 academic performance;
9 (3) Children must be well nourished before they are able to succeed
10 in the classroom, and hunger is a significant barrier to student learning
11 in the state; and
12 (4) A student who qualifies for reduced-price breakfasts or reduced-
13 price lunches may be particularly vulnerable to the consequences of an
14 unpaid balance in his or her school meal account in the form of shaming,
15 inequitable treatment, or refusal of service.
16 Sec. 3. For purposes of the Child Hunger and Workforce Readiness
17 Act:
18 (1) Reduced-price breakfast means a breakfast served to an eligible
19 student by a school district participating in the School Breakfast
20 Program under the federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. 1771 et
21 seq., as such act existed on January 1, 2019; and
22 (2) Reduced-price lunch means a lunch served to an eligible student
23 by a school district participating in the National School Lunch Program
24 under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq., as such
25 act existed on January 1, 2019.
26 Sec. 4. Except as provided in section 5 of this act, a public
27 school participating in the National School Lunch Program or the School
28 Breakfast Program shall provide each student who is eligible for a
29 reduced-price breakfast or reduced-price lunch with such meal at no cost
30 to the student. The State Department of Education shall reimburse each
31 school district in the amount that the school district would otherwise
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1 have charged for each meal provided at no cost to the student for each
2 student who qualifies for a reduced-price breakfast or reduced-price
3 lunch. It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate funds from the
4 General Fund to the State Department of Education to carry out this
5 section.
6 Sec. 5. The Child Hunger and Workforce Readiness Act does not apply
7 to any school receiving reimbursement under 42 U.S.C. 1759a, as such
8 section existed on January 1, 2019.
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