school meals; school personnel; requirements

Plain English Breakdown

The official text confirms the law applies only to public schools, leaving private school status undefined by this specific statute.

Rules for School Meals and Staff Conduct

This law stops public school staff from shaming students or giving them different meals because their parents have not paid meal fees.

What This Bill Does

• Requires public schools to ensure employees, volunteers, and contractors do not shame students with unpaid meal bills.
• Prohibits treating a student differently than other students just because of unpaid school meal fees.
• Bans serving different meals to students who have not paid their fees compared to those who have paid.
• Allows schools to serve special alternative meals if a student needs them for dietary or religious reasons.
• Stops staff from taking disciplinary action that denies or delays a nutritious meal during the school day.

Who It Names or Affects

• Public schools in Arizona
• School employees, volunteers, and contractors who interact with students
• Students whose parents have not paid their school meal fees

Terms To Know

Contractor

A person or company hired to do work for the school.

Disciplinary action

Punishment given by a school that results in denying or delaying a meal meeting nutrition standards.

Limits and Unknowns

• The law does not say how schools must collect unpaid meal fees.
• It is unclear if this rule applies to private schools since the text only names public schools.
• The effective date for when these rules start has not been listed in the provided text.

Official Summary Text

SB1697 - school meals; school personnel; requirements

Current Bill Text

SB1697 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
school meals; school personnel; requirements

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1697

Introduced by

Senators
Diaz: Fernandez, Gonzales, Hatathlie, Kuby, Miranda, Ortiz, Sears

AN
ACT

amending title 15, chapter 1, ARTICLE 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 15-120.08; relating to school
meal programs.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 15, chapter 1, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-120.08, to read:

START_STATUTE
15-120.08.

School meals; prohibited conduct by school personnel

A. Each public school shall ensure
that each school employee, volunteer or contractor who interacts with any
student whose parent has not paid the student's school meal fees does not
either:

1. Shame the student or treat the
student differently from the student's peers because of the unpaid school meal
fees.

2. Serve the student a different meal
than the meals that the employee, volunteer or contractor serves to students
who do not have unpaid school meal fees.� This paragraph does not prohibit a
school or an employee, volunteer or contractor of a school from serving an
alternative meal to a student who requires a special meal for a dietary or
religious reason.

B. Employees, volunteers and
contractors of any public school that serves meals that meet the nutrition
standards prescribed in section 15-242 to students during the
instructional day may not take disciplinary action against a student that
results in the denial or delay of a meal that meets the nutrition standards
prescribed in section 15-242.

END_STATUTE