LCO \\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2019HB-07257-R01-
HB.docx
1 of 2
General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 7257
January Session, 2019
AN ACT CONCERNING FO OD-INSECURE STUDENTS AT PUBLIC
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective July 1, 2019) (a) As used in this section: 1
(1) "Food insecurity" means the lack of available financial resources 2
needed to consistently access enough food for an active and healthy 3
life; and 4
(2) "Food pantry" means a site at which an organization distributes 5
food, at no charge, directly to persons in need. 6
(b) The Board of Trustees of The University of Connecticut and the 7
Board of Regents for Higher Education shall each study the policies 8
impacting and data regarding students experiencing food insecurity at 9
the public institutions of higher education under each board's 10
jurisdiction. For the purposes of the study, each said board shall 11
document (1) during the month of October 2019, and, at the board's 12
discretion, any additional month in 2019, (A) the number of students 13
who reported experiencing food insecurity or attempted to access 14
benefits offered by an institution under the board's jurisdiction to 15
students experiencing food insecurity, and (B) if an institution under 16
the board's jurisdiction operates a food pantry, the number of students 17
served by the food pantry and the number of pounds of food the 18 Substitute Bill No. 7257
LCO {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2019HB-07257-
R01-HB.docx }
2 of 2
institution distributed, and (2) during the fiscal year ending June 30, 19
2019, if an institution under the board's jurisdiction offers emergency 20
grants to students experiencing financial hardship, (A) the number of 21
students who applied for such grants and total dollar amount for 22
which such students applied, and (B) the number of students who 23
received grants and the total dollar amount of grants distributed. 24
(c) Not later than January 1, 2020, each said board shall submit a 25
report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general 26
statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 27
having cognizance of matters relating to higher education regarding 28
the findings of the study and, for every institution under the board's 29
jurisdiction, such report shall include a description of (1) policies that 30
impact a student's access to food, including, but not limited to, policies 31
regarding the suspension of meal plans as a result of unpaid tuition or 32
the operating hours of on-campus dining facilities during holiday or 33
vacation periods, and (2) programs that provide benefits to students 34
experiencing food insecurity, detailing how such programs or benefits 35
operate, including, but not limited to, a description of how students 36
access benefits, how the benefits are distributed or awarded, how the 37
programs are funded and whether the benefits offered are sufficient to 38
meet the needs of all students at the institution experiencing food 39
insecurity. 40
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(b), "and at the board's discretion, any additional month in
2019," was added for clarity and in Section 1(c), the last sentence was
deleted for clarity.
HED Joint Favorable Subst.