A BILL for an Act to provide an appropriation to the department of public instruction to provide school meals at no cost to eligible students; and to provide an effective date.
HB 1627 would appropriate $7 million from the state general fund to the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction to fund grants to school districts for free school meals during the 2026-27 school year. The grants would be used to offset the cost of providing meals at no charge to students in public and nonpublic schools whose household income is at or below 300% of the federal poverty guidelines.
The bill is a targeted school nutrition funding measure rather than a broad change to education law. It creates a one-time appropriation for the 2025-27 biennium and sets an effective date of July 1, 2026, meaning the program would not begin until the following school year. The measure would affect the Department of Public Instruction, local school districts, and eligible families by subsidizing meal costs for a defined income group.
HB 1627 would direct state general fund dollars to the Department of Public Instruction for distribution as grants to school districts, effectively expanding access to no-cost school meals for eligible students in both public and nonpublic schools. It would not amend the underlying school meal statutes, but it would create a temporary funding mechanism that could reduce meal charges for families below the income threshold and shift some nutrition costs from households and districts to the state.
Based on the bill’s purpose, the measure appears to have been framed as a child nutrition and affordability proposal, but there is no recorded committee testimony or vote detail in the provided materials to show active support or opposition. The bill ultimately failed on January 22, 2026, indicating it did not advance despite its stated goal of helping lower- and moderate-income families access school meals at no cost.
The main policy issue is likely the scope and cost of the appropriation, including whether the state should spend $7 million from the general fund to subsidize meals for students up to 300% of the federal poverty guidelines. Another possible point of debate is eligibility design: the bill extends benefits to students in both public and nonpublic schools, which could raise questions about equity, program reach, and whether state aid should support private-school students. No specific objections or proponents are documented in the provided record.