Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Minnesota Senate Bill SF2708 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1.1 A bill for an act
2	2	1.2 relating to education finance; increasing local optional aid for schools; limiting
3	3	1.3 state-paid free school lunches to families with incomes at or below 500 percent of
4	4	1.4 the federal poverty level; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes
5	5	1.5 2024, sections 124D.111, subdivisions 1, 1a, 1c, 1d, 4, by adding a subdivision;
6	6	1.6 124E.20, subdivision 1; 126C.10, subdivision 2e.
7	7	1.7BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
8	8	1.8 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 124D.111, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
9	9	1.9 Subdivision 1.School meals policies; definitions.(a) Each Minnesota participant in
10	10	1.10the national school lunch program must adopt and post to its website, or the website of the
11	11	1.11organization where the meal is served, a school meals policy.
12	12	1.12 (b) The policy must be in writing and clearly communicate student meal charges when
13	13	1.13payment cannot be collected at the point of service. The policy must be reasonable and
14	14	1.14well-defined and maintain the dignity of students by prohibiting lunch shaming or otherwise
15	15	1.15ostracizing the student.
16	16	1.16 (c) The policy must address whether the participant uses a collections agency to collect
17	17	1.17unpaid school meals debt.
18	18	1.18 (d) The policy must ensure that once a participant has placed a meal on a tray or otherwise
19	19	1.19served the meal to a student, the meal may not be subsequently withdrawn from the student
20	20	1.20by the cashier or other school official, whether or not the student has an outstanding meals
21	21	1.21balance.
22	22	1Section 1.
23	23	25-04372 as introduced02/27/25 REVISOR CR/KR
24	24	SENATE
25	25	STATE OF MINNESOTA
26	26	S.F. No. 2708NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
27	27	(SENATE AUTHORS: COLEMAN, Pratt and Housley)
28	28	OFFICIAL STATUSD-PGDATE
29	29	Introduction and first reading03/20/2025
30	30	Referred to Education Finance 2.1 (e) The policy must ensure that a student who has been determined eligible for free and
31	31	2.2reduced-price meals must always be served a reimbursable meal even if the student has an
32	32	2.3outstanding debt.
33	33	2.4 (f) If a school contracts with a third party for its meal services, it must provide the vendor
34	34	2.5with its school meals policy. Any contract between the school and a third-party provider
35	35	2.6entered into or modified after July 1, 2021, must ensure that the third-party provider adheres
36	36	2.7to the participant's school meals policy.
37	37	2.8 (g) For purposes of this section the following terms have the meanings given:
38	38	2.9 (1) "full paid meal" means a meal served to a participating student whose family does
39	39	2.10not qualify for a free or reduced-price meal under the national school lunch program;
40	40	2.11 (2) "free meal" means a meal served to a participating student whose family qualifies
41	41	2.12for a free meal under the national school lunch program;
42	42	2.13 (3) "reduced-price meal" means a meal served to a participating student whose family
43	43	2.14qualifies for a reduced-price meal under the national school lunch program;
44	44	2.15 (4) "enhanced school meal" means a meal served to a participating student whose family
45	45	2.16income meets the enhanced meal eligibility standard;
46	46	2.17 (5) "federal poverty guidelines" means the poverty guidelines by family size published
47	47	2.18by the United States Department of Human Services for that school year;
48	48	2.19 (6) "enhanced meal eligibility standard" means a student whose family income is between
49	49	2.20185 percent and 500 percent of the federal poverty guideline for that school year; and
50	50	2.21 (7) "application for educational benefits" means an online or paper application appropriate
51	51	2.22for determining a student's eligibility for school meals and other educational benefits. A
52	52	2.23student may qualify for a free, reduced-price, or enhanced school meal based on the
53	53	2.24application for educational benefits or through the direct certification process.
54	54	2.25 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective for fiscal year 2026 and later.
55	55	2.26 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 124D.111, subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
56	56	2.27 Subd. 1a.School lunch aid amounts.(a) The school lunch state aid for a participant in
57	57	2.28the national school lunch program is the sum of the amount in paragraph (b) and the amount
58	58	2.29calculated under subdivision 1d.
59	59	2.30 (b) Each school year, the state must pay participants in the national school lunch program
60	60	2.31either:
61	61	2Sec. 2.
62	62	25-04372 as introduced02/27/25 REVISOR CR/KR 3.1 (1) the amount of 12.5 cents for each full paid and free student lunch and 52.5 cents for
63	63	3.2each reduced-price lunch served to students; or
64	64	3.3 (2) if the school participates in the free school meals program under subdivision 1c, the
65	65	3.4sum of: (i) 12.5 cents for each full paid, reduced-price, and free student lunch; and (ii) the
66	66	3.5amount specified in subdivision 1d.
67	67	3.6 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective for fiscal year 2026 and later.
68	68	3.7 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 124D.111, subdivision 1c, is amended to read:
69	69	3.8 Subd. 1c.Free Enhanced school meals program.(a) The free enhanced school meals
70	70	3.9program is created within the Department of Education.
71	71	3.10 (b) Each school that participates in the United States Department of Agriculture National
72	72	3.11School Lunch program and has an Identified Student Percentage below the federal percentage
73	73	3.12determined for all meals to be reimbursed at the free rate via the Community Eligibility
74	74	3.13Provision must participate in the free enhanced school meals program.
75	75	3.14 (c) Each school that participates in the United States Department of Agriculture National
76	76	3.15School Lunch program and has an Identified Student Percentage at or above the federal
77	77	3.16percentage determined for all meals to be reimbursed at the free rate must participate in the
78	78	3.17federal Community Eligibility Provision in order to participate in the free enhanced school
79	79	3.18meals program.
80	80	3.19 (d) Each school that participates in the free enhanced school meals program must:
81	81	3.20 (1) participate in the United States Department of Agriculture School Breakfast Program
82	82	3.21and the United States Department of Agriculture National School Lunch Program; and
83	83	3.22 (2) provide to all eligible students at no cost up to two federally reimbursable meals per
84	84	3.23school day, with a maximum of one free breakfast and one free lunch.
85	85	3.24 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective for fiscal year 2026 and later.
86	86	3.25 Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 124D.111, subdivision 1d, is amended to read:
87	87	3.26 Subd. 1d.Free Enhanced school meals program aid amount.The department must
88	88	3.27provide to every Minnesota school participating in the free enhanced school meals program
89	89	3.28state funding for each school lunch and breakfast served to a an eligible student, with a
90	90	3.29maximum of one breakfast and one lunch per eligible student per school day. The state aid
91	91	3.30equals the difference between the applicable federal reimbursement rate at that school site
92	92	3.31for a free an enhanced school meal, as determined annually by the United States Department
93	93	3Sec. 4.
94	94	25-04372 as introduced02/27/25 REVISOR CR/KR 4.1of Agriculture, and the actual federal reimbursement received by the participating school
95	95	4.2for the breakfast or lunch served to the student.
96	96	4.3 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective for fiscal year 2026 and later.
97	97	4.4 Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 124D.111, is amended by adding a subdivision
98	98	4.5to read:
99	99	4.6 Subd. 1e.Transfers from other funds.A participant in the national school lunch
100	100	4.7program may set a school meal eligibility standard higher than the enhanced meal eligibility
101	101	4.8standard and may transfer other school funds into its school nutrition account to pay for the
102	102	4.9costs of these meals.
103	103	4.10 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective for fiscal year 2026 and later.
104	104	4.11 Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 124D.111, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
105	105	4.12 Subd. 4.No fees.A participant that receives school lunch aid under this section must
106	106	4.13make lunch available without charge and must not deny a school lunch to all eligible
107	107	4.14participating students who qualify for free or meals, reduced-price meals, or enhanced school
108	108	4.15meals whether or not that student has an outstanding balance in the student's meals account.
109	109	4.16 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective for fiscal year 2026 and later.
110	110	4.17 Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 124E.20, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
111	111	4.18 Subdivision 1.Revenue calculation.(a) General education revenue must be paid to a
112	112	4.19charter school as though it were a district. The general education revenue for each adjusted
113	113	4.20pupil unit is the state average general education revenue per pupil unit, plus the referendum
114	114	4.21equalization aid allowance and the first and second tier local optional aid allowance
115	115	4.22allowances in the pupil's district of residence, minus an amount equal to the product of the
116	116	4.23formula allowance according to section 126C.10, subdivision 2, times .0466, calculated
117	117	4.24without declining enrollment revenue, local optional revenue, basic skills revenue, extended
118	118	4.25time revenue, pension adjustment revenue, transition revenue, and transportation sparsity
119	119	4.26revenue, plus declining enrollment revenue, basic skills revenue, pension adjustment revenue,
120	120	4.27and transition revenue as though the school were a school district.
121	121	4.28 (b) For a charter school operating an extended day, extended week, or summer program,
122	122	4.29the general education revenue in paragraph (a) is increased by an amount equal to 25 percent
123	123	4.30of the statewide average extended time revenue per adjusted pupil unit.
124	124	4Sec. 7.
125	125	25-04372 as introduced02/27/25 REVISOR CR/KR 5.1 (c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the general education revenue for an eligible special
126	126	5.2education charter school as defined in section 124E.21, subdivision 2, equals the sum of
127	127	5.3the amount determined under paragraph (a) and the school's unreimbursed cost as defined
128	128	5.4in section 124E.21, subdivision 2, for educating students not eligible for special education
129	129	5.5services.
130	130	5.6 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective for fiscal year 2026 and later.
131	131	5.7 Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 126C.10, subdivision 2e, is amended to read:
132	132	5.8 Subd. 2e.Local optional revenue.(a) For fiscal year 2026 and later, a district's first
133	133	5.9tier local optional allowance equals $92.
134	134	5.10 (b) For fiscal year 2026 and later, a district's second tier local optional allowance equals
135	135	5.11$300.
136	136	5.12 (c) For fiscal year 2026 and later, a district's third tier local optional allowance equals
137	137	5.13$424.
138	138	5.14 (d) Local optional revenue for a school district equals the sum of the district's first tier
139	139	5.15local optional revenue and, second tier local optional revenue, and third tier local optional
140	140	5.16revenue. A district's first tier local optional revenue equals $300 the first tier local optional
141	141	5.17allowance times the adjusted pupil units of the district for that school year. A district's
142	142	5.18second tier local optional revenue equals the second tier local optional allowance times the
143	143	5.19adjusted pupil units of the district for that school year. A district's second third tier local
144	144	5.20optional revenue equals $424 the third tier local optional allowance times the adjusted pupil
145	145	5.21units of the district for that school year.
146	146	5.22 (b) (e) A district's local optional levy equals the sum of the first second tier local optional
147	147	5.23levy and the second third tier local optional levy.
148	148	5.24 (c) (f) A district's first second tier local optional levy equals the district's first second
149	149	5.25tier local optional revenue times the lesser of one or the ratio of the district's referendum
150	150	5.26market value per resident pupil unit to $880,000.
151	151	5.27 (d) For fiscal year 2023, a district's second tier local optional levy equals the district's
152	152	5.28second tier local optional revenue times the lesser of one or the ratio of the district's
153	153	5.29referendum market value per resident pupil unit to $548,842. For fiscal year 2024, a district's
154	154	5.30second tier local optional levy equals the district's second tier local optional revenue times
155	155	5.31the lesser of one or the ratio of the district's referendum market value per resident pupil unit
156	156	5.32to $510,000. (g) For fiscal year 2025, a district's second third tier local optional levy equals
157	157	5.33the district's second third tier local optional revenue times the lesser of one or the ratio of
158	158	5Sec. 8.
159	159	25-04372 as introduced02/27/25 REVISOR CR/KR 6.1the district's referendum market value per resident pupil unit to $626,450. For fiscal year
160	160	6.22026, a district's second third tier local optional levy equals the district's second third tier
161	161	6.3local optional revenue times the lesser of one or the ratio of the district's referendum market
162	162	6.4value per resident pupil unit to $642,038. For fiscal year 2027 and later, a district's second
163	163	6.5third tier local optional levy equals the district's second third tier local optional revenue
164	164	6.6times the lesser of one or the ratio of the district's referendum market value per resident
165	165	6.7pupil unit to $671,345.
166	166	6.8 (e) (h) The local optional levy must be spread on referendum market value. A district
167	167	6.9may levy less than the permitted amount.
168	168	6.10 (f) (i) A district's local optional aid equals its local optional revenue minus its local
169	169	6.11optional levy. If a district's actual levy for first or second or third tier local optional revenue
170	170	6.12is less than its maximum levy limit for that tier, its aid must be proportionately reduced.
171	171	6.13 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2026 and later.
172	172	6.14 Sec. 9. APPROPRIATIONS.
173	173	6.15 Subdivision 1.Department of Education.The sums indicated in this section are
174	174	6.16appropriated from the general fund to the Department of Education in the fiscal years
175	175	6.17designated.
176	176	6.18 Subd. 2.Local optional aid.For additional general education aid under Minnesota
177	177	6.19Statutes, section 126C.19:
178	178	2026............6.20 $
179	179	2027............6.21 $
180	180	6.22 Subd. 3.School lunch.For school lunch aid under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.111:
181	181	2026............6.23 $
182	182	2027............6.24 $
183	183	6Sec. 9.
184	184	25-04372 as introduced02/27/25 REVISOR CR/KR