HB424 • 2026

RELATING TO SCHOOL MEALS.

Budget Education

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: MATAYOSHI, CHUN, EVSLIN, GARRETT, HOLT, KAHALOA, KEOHOKAPU-LEE LOY, KITAGAWA, LA CHICA, LEE, M., MARTEN, MORIKAWA, OLDS, QUINLAN, SAYAMA, TAKAYAMA, TAM, TARNAS, TODD
Last action: 2025-12-08
Official status: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's official text does not specify how much of the meal costs will be covered by state funds and what happens if federal funding is insufficient.

Free School Meals Act

This bill requires the Department of Education to provide free breakfasts and lunches to eligible students starting in the 2025-2026 school year, with funding provided by the state.

What This Bill Does

Requires the Department of Education to offer free breakfasts and lunches to public school students who qualify based on their household income for federal meal programs.
Limits the amount that can be charged for school meals to no more than half the cost of preparing them, with adjustments allowed annually.
Provides funding from state general revenues to cover the costs of providing these free meals in schools.

Who It Names or Affects

Students enrolled in public schools who qualify based on household income for federal school meal programs.
The Department of Education, which will be responsible for implementing and funding the program.

Terms To Know

Eligibility: Qualifying criteria set by the government or a program to determine who can receive benefits or services.
Appropriation: Money allocated by the legislature for specific purposes, such as funding school meals.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how much of the meal costs will be covered by state funds.
It is unclear what happens if federal funding is insufficient to cover all eligible students' meals.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment requires the Department of Education to provide free breakfast and lunch to eligible students starting in the 2025-2026 school year, limits meal charges to one-quarter of preparation costs, and allocates funds for these programs.

Free breakfast and lunch will be provided to eligible students beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
The Department of Education is limited in charging no more than one-quarter of meal preparation costs to all students.
Funds are appropriated for free meals starting from fiscal year 2025-2026.

The exact amount of funds appropriated is not specified, only that it will be provided as necessary based on federal funding accounting.

HD2

Hawaii published version HD2

Plain English: This amendment requires the Department of Education to provide free breakfast and lunch to eligible students starting in the 2025-2026 school year, limits how much can be charged for meals, and allocates funds.

Free breakfast and lunch will be provided to all students who qualify based on household income eligibility and have their application approved by the Department of Education.
The price for school meals cannot exceed the cost of preparing them.
Funds are allocated for providing free meals in public schools.

The exact portion of meal costs that can be charged to students is not specified.
The effective date mentioned (July 1, 3000) seems incorrect and likely contains an error.

Bill History

2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-03-06 S
Referred to EDU, WAM.
2025-03-06 S
Passed First Reading.
2025-03-06 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 235).
2025-03-04 H
Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Pierick, Ward excused (2). Transmitted to Senate.
2025-02-28 H
Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 03-04-25.
2025-02-28 H
Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1022) as amended in HD 2, recommending passage on Third Reading.
2025-02-20 H
The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 14 Ayes: Representative(s) Yamashita, Takenouchi, Grandinetti, Holt, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lamosao, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Templo, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Alcos, Ward.
2025-02-18 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Thursday, 02-20-25 10:00AM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-02-13 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with Representative(s) Garcia voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and Representative(s) Cochran, Kitagawa, Ward excused (3).
2025-02-13 H
Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 564) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.
2025-02-11 H
The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 11 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Garrett, Kapela, Kila, Olds, Sayama, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
2025-02-07 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by EDN on Tuesday, 02-11-25 2:01PM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-21 H
Referred to EDN, FIN, referral sheet 2
2025-01-21 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-17 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO SCHOOL MEALS.
Department of Education; Free School Breakfasts and Lunches; Cost; Appropriation ($)
Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, requires the Department of Education to provide free breakfast and lunch to students enrolled in a public school who meet certain requirements. Reduces the amount the Department of Education is authorized to charge for school meals to all students enrolled in department schools to no more than an unspecified portion of the cost of preparing the meals. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB424

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

424

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to school meals
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION
1
.
�
Section 302A-404, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended to read as follows:

����
"
�302A-404
�
School meals[
.
]
; free school
breakfast and lunch.
�
(a)
�

School meals shall be made available under the school meals program in
every school where the students are required to eat meals at school.

����
(b)
�

Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year,
free school breakfast shall be provided to
every student enrolled in a department school
who:

����
(1)
�
Qualifies based
on the student's household eligibility for reduced price breakfast under the
federal school breakfast program or any other federal program for free and
reduced price school meals;

����
(2)
�
Submits
an application to the department; and

����
(3)
�
Has
their application approved by the department.

Free
school breakfast shall meet the meal requirements for breakfasts established
pursuant to title 7 Code of Federal Regulations section 220.8.

����
(c)
�

Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year,
free school lunch shall be provided to any
student enrolled in a department school
who:

����
(1)
�
Qualifies based
on the student's household eligibility for reduced price lunch under the
federal National School Lunch Program;

����
(2)
�
Submits
an application to the department; and

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(3)
�
Has
their application approved by the department.

Free
school lunch shall meet the meal requirements for lunches established pursuant
to title 7 Code of Federal Regulations section 210.10.

����
[
(b)
]
(d)
�
No student shall be denied a meal solely for
failure to pay:

����
(1)
�
Within the first
twenty-one days of the first semester of a school year while the student's
application for free or reduced lunch is being processed; or

����
(2)
�
Within seven days
after a student's meal fund account reaches a zero or negative balance.

����
[
(c)
]
(e)
�
The department may adopt rules or policies
governing the collection of funds for student meal accounts with a negative
fund balance; provided that no rule or policy shall prohibit feeding a student
as required pursuant to subsection (b).

����
(f)
�
It is the intent of this section not to
jeopardize the receipt of any federal aid and to the extent, and only to the
extent necessary to effectuate this intent, the governor may modify the strict
provisions of this section, but shall promptly report any such modification
with the governor's reasons therefor to the next succeeding session of the
legislature for review.
"

����
SECTION
2
.
�
Section
302A-405, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to
read as follows:

����
"
(a)
�
[
The
]
Except
as provided in section 302A-404(b) and (c), the
price for school meals
shall be set by the department to ensure that moneys received from the sale of
the meals shall be [
not
]
no
less than one-half of the cost of
preparing the meals.
�
The prices for
school meals may be adjusted annually based on the previous year's costs
rounded to the nearest five cents; provided that the department by rule shall
provide a lower rate or free meals to children based on their economic need.
"

����
SECTION
3.
�
There is appropriated out of the
general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of
$ or so much
thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 and the same sum or so
much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the total plate
costs associated with providing free school breakfasts and lunches in
department of education schools as required by this Act after federal funding
has been accounted.

����
The sums

appropriated shall be expended by the
department of education for the purposes of this Act.

����
SECTION 4.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

����
SECTION 5.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Department
of Education; Free School Breakfasts and Lunches; Appropriation

Description:

Beginning
with the 2025-2026 school year, requires the Department of Education to provide
free breakfast and lunch to students enrolled in a public school who meet
certain requirements.
�
Appropriates
funds.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.