Substitute House Bill No. 7257
Special Act No. 19-25
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) "Food insecurity" means the lack of available financial resources
needed to consistently access enough food for an active and healthy
life; and
(2) "Food pantry" means a site at which an organization distributes
food, at no charge, directly to persons in need.
(b) The Board of Trustees of The University of Connecticut and the
Board of Regents for Higher Education shall each study the policies
impacting and data regarding students experiencing food insecurity at
the public institutions of higher education under each board's
jurisdiction. For the purposes of the study, each said board shall
document (1) during the month of October 2019, and, at the board's
discretion, any additional month, (A) the number of students who
reported experiencing food insecurity or attempted to access benefits
offered by an institution under the board's jurisdiction to students
experiencing food insecurity, and (B) if an institution under the board's
jurisdiction operates a food pantry or allows the operation of a food Substitute House Bill No. 7257
Special Act No. 19-25 2 of 2
pantry on campus, the number of students served and the number of
pounds of food distributed by the food pantry, and (2) during the
fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, if an institution or a duly established
foundation of an institution under the board's jurisdiction offers
emergency grants to students experiencing financial hardship, (A) the
number of students who applied for such grants and total dollar
amount for which such students applied, and (B) the number of
students who received grants and the total dollar amount of grants
distributed.
(c) Not later than February 1, 2020, each said board shall submit a
report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general
statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly
having cognizance of matters relating to higher education regarding
the findings of the study and, for every institution under the board's
jurisdiction, such report shall include a description of (1) policies that
impact a student's access to food, including, but not limited to, policies
regarding the suspension of meal plans as a result of unpaid tuition or
the operating hours of on-campus dining facilities during holiday or
vacation periods, and (2) programs that provide benefits to students
experiencing food insecurity, detailing how such programs or benefits
operate, including, but not limited to, a description of how students
access benefits, how the benefits are distributed or awarded, how the
programs are funded and whether the benefits offered are reasonably
sufficient to meet the needs of all students at the institution who report
experiencing food insecurity.