NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A state bill meant to make sure students across Tennessee can eat free breakfast and lunch at school was reintroduced in the legislature. New sponsors were added to HB 0255 on Feb. 7, and new sponsors were added to SB 0208 on Feb. 16.
The bill was introduced during the previous session but was delayed after it was taken off notice in the House K-12 Subcommittee. It would require school boards to establish a school lunch and breakfast program that gives free meals to every enrolled student.
The state would also need to reimburse schools after federal funds run out. A fiscal note from the 2023 session said the bill would cost the state around $714.8 million.
It said on average, breakfast and lunch cost around $6.23 per student, and there were around 993,178 students in the state. That would total around $1.1 billion to feed every student throughout a 180-day school year. The fiscal note said around $399 million of that would be covered by federal dollars.
"It is assumed that revising the waiver of school fees to apply to all students eligible to receive a free or reduced-price lunch will not significantly impact the number of students that qualify and receive a waiver for the specified school fees," the note said.
The House version was introduced in 2023 by Rep. Kevin Raper (R - Cleveland).