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SF58 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to school lunch and breakfast programs provided by school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions.

A bill for an act relating to school lunch and breakfast programs provided by school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions.

Budget Education
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
WEINER, DOTZLER, DONAHUE, WINCKLER, CELSI, BLAKE, TRONE GARRIOTT, KNOX, BENNETT, TOWNSEND, STAED, PETERSEN, QUIRMBACH, WAHLS and BISIGNANO
Last action
2025-01-28
Official status
Subcommittee: Rozenboom, Evans, and Winckler. S.J. 151 .
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act relating to school lunch and breakfast programs provided by school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions.

A bill for an act relating to school lunch and breakfast programs provided by school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions.

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act relating to school lunch and breakfast programs provided by school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-01-28 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee: Rozenboom, Evans, and Winckler. S.J. 151 .

  2. 2025-01-16 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, referred to Education. S.J. 105 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to school lunch and breakfast programs provided by school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Senate

File

58

-

Introduced

SENATE

FILE

58

BY

WEINER

,

DOTZLER

,

DONAHUE

,

WINCKLER

,

CELSI

,

BLAKE

,

TRONE

GARRIOTT

,

KNOX

,

BENNETT

,

TOWNSEND

,

STAED

,

PETERSEN

,

QUIRMBACH

,

WAHLS

,

and

BISIGNANO

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

school

lunch

and

breakfast

programs

provided

1

by

school

districts,

accredited

nonpublic

schools,

charter

2

schools,

and

innovation

zone

schools,

making

appropriations,

3

and

including

effective

date

provisions.

4

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

5

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(4)

91

jda/jh

S.F.

58

Section

1.

Section

256E.7,

subsection

2,

Code

2025,

is

1

amended

by

adding

the

following

new

paragraph:

2

NEW

PARAGRAPH

.

0t.

Be

subject

to

and

comply

with

the

3

requirements

of

section

283A.6

relating

to

free

school

lunch

4

and

breakfast

programs

in

the

same

manner

as

a

school

district.

5

Sec.

2.

Section

256F.4,

subsection

2,

Code

2025,

is

amended

6

by

adding

the

following

new

paragraph:

7

NEW

PARAGRAPH

.

r.

Be

subject

to

and

comply

with

the

8

requirements

of

section

283A.6

relating

to

free

school

lunch

9

and

breakfast

programs

in

the

same

manner

as

a

school

district.

10

Sec.

3.

Section

283A.2,

subsection

2,

Code

2025,

is

amended

11

to

read

as

follows:

12

2.

A

school

district

shall

operate

or

provide

for

the

13

operation

of

lunch

programs

at

all

attendance

centers

in

14

the

district.

A

Unless

required

under

section

283A.6,

a

15

school

district

may

operate

or

provide

for

the

operation

of

16

school

breakfast

programs

at

all

attendance

centers

in

the

17

district,

or

provide

access

to

a

school

breakfast

program

at

18

an

alternative

site

to

students

who

wish

to

participate

in

a

19

school

breakfast

program.

The

programs

shall

provide

students

20

with

nutritionally

adequate

meals

and

shall

be

operated

in

21

compliance

with

the

rules

of

the

state

board

of

education

and

22

pertinent

federal

law

and

regulation.

The

school

lunch

program

23

shall

be

provided

for

all

students

in

each

district

who

attend

24

public

school

four

or

more

hours

each

school

day

and

wish

to

25

participate

in

a

school

lunch

program.

School

districts

may

26

provide

school

breakfast

and

lunch

programs

for

other

students.

27

Sec.

4.

NEW

SECTION

.

283A.6

Free

school

lunch

and

breakfast

28

programs.

29

1.

For

the

fiscal

year

beginning

July

1,

2025,

and

ending

30

June

30,

2026,

each

school

district

described

in

chapter

31

274,

accredited

nonpublic

school,

charter

school

organized

32

under

chapter

256E,

and

charter

school

or

innovation

zone

33

school

organized

under

chapter

256F

shall

operate

a

program

34

under

which

breakfasts

and

lunches

are

served

to

students

35

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58

in

attendance

at

no

charge

to

the

student

or

the

student’s

1

family

if

the

student’s

family

has

a

family

income

that

is

less

2

than

or

equal

to

three

hundred

percent

of

the

federal

poverty

3

level

as

defined

by

the

most

recently

revised

poverty

income

4

guidelines

published

by

the

United

States

department

of

health

5

and

human

services.

Meals

served

pursuant

to

this

subsection

6

shall

be

nutritionally

adequate

meals.

This

subsection

is

7

repealed

July

1,

2026.

8

2.

For

the

fiscal

year

beginning

July

1,

2026,

and

ending

9

June

30,

2027,

each

school

district

described

in

chapter

10

274,

accredited

nonpublic

school,

charter

school

organized

11

under

chapter

256E,

and

charter

school

or

innovation

zone

12

school

organized

under

chapter

256F

shall

operate

a

program

13

under

which

breakfasts

and

lunches

are

served

to

students

14

in

attendance

at

no

charge

to

the

student

or

the

student’s

15

family

if

the

student’s

family

has

a

family

income

that

is

less

16

than

or

equal

to

four

hundred

percent

of

the

federal

poverty

17

level

as

defined

by

the

most

recently

revised

poverty

income

18

guidelines

published

by

the

United

States

department

of

health

19

and

human

services.

Meals

served

pursuant

to

this

subsection

20

shall

be

nutritionally

adequate

meals.

This

subsection

is

21

repealed

July

1,

2027.

22

3.

For

the

fiscal

year

beginning

July

1,

2027,

and

for

23

each

fiscal

year

thereafter,

each

school

district

described

24

in

chapter

274,

accredited

nonpublic

school,

charter

school

25

organized

under

chapter

256E,

and

charter

school

or

innovation

26

zone

school

organized

under

chapter

256F

shall

operate

a

27

program

under

which

breakfasts

and

lunches

are

served

to

28

students

in

attendance

at

no

charge

to

the

student

or

the

29

student’s

family.

Meals

served

pursuant

to

this

subsection

30

shall

be

nutritionally

adequate

meals.

31

4.

For

the

fiscal

year

beginning

July

1,

2025,

and

for

32

each

fiscal

year

thereafter,

there

is

appropriated

from

the

33

general

fund

of

the

state

to

the

department

of

education

an

34

amount

necessary

to

make

the

payments

to

school

districts

35

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58

described

in

chapter

274,

accredited

nonpublic

schools,

charter

1

schools

organized

under

chapter

256E,

and

charter

schools

and

2

innovation

zone

schools

organized

under

chapter

256F

necessary

3

to

cover

the

costs

of

providing

school

lunches

and

school

4

breakfasts

pursuant

to

this

section

that

are

not

covered

by

any

5

Act

of

Congress

and

appropriated

to

the

state

of

Iowa

for

use

6

in

connection

with

school

breakfast

or

lunch

programs.

7

5.

The

state

board

of

education

shall

adopt

rules

pursuant

8

to

chapter

17A

to

administer

this

section.

9

Sec.

5.

Section

283A.10,

Code

2025,

is

amended

to

read

as

10

follows:

11

283A.10

School

breakfast

or

lunch

in

nonpublic

schools.

12

The

Unless

required

under

section

283A.6,

the

authorities

13

in

charge

of

nonpublic

schools

may

operate

or

provide

for

the

14

operation

of

school

breakfast

or

lunch

programs

in

schools

15

under

their

jurisdiction

and

may

use

funds

appropriated

to

16

them

by

the

general

assembly,

gifts,

funds

received

from

sale

17

of

school

breakfasts

or

lunches

under

such

programs,

and

any

18

other

funds

available

to

the

nonpublic

school.

However,

19

unless

required

under

section

283A.6,

school

breakfast

or

20

lunch

programs

shall

not

be

required

in

nonpublic

schools.

21

The

department

of

education

shall

direct

the

disbursement

of

22

state

funds

to

nonpublic

schools

for

school

breakfast

or

lunch

23

programs

in

the

same

manner

as

state

funds

are

disbursed

to

24

public

schools.

If

a

nonpublic

school

receives

state

funds

for

25

the

operation

of

a

school

breakfast

or

lunch

program,

meals

26

served

under

the

program

shall

be

nutritionally

adequate

meals,

27

as

defined

in

section

283A.1

.

28

Sec.

6.

EFFECTIVE

DATE.

This

Act,

being

deemed

of

immediate

29

importance,

takes

effect

upon

enactment.

30

EXPLANATION

31

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

32

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

33

This

bill

relates

to

school

lunch

and

breakfast

programs

34

provided

by

school

districts,

accredited

nonpublic

schools,

35

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(4)

91

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4

S.F.

58

charter

schools,

and

innovation

zone

schools

(schools).

1

For

the

fiscal

year

beginning

July

1,

2025,

and

ending

June

2

30,

2026,

the

bill

requires

each

school

to

operate

a

program

3

under

which

breakfasts

and

lunches

are

served

to

students

in

4

attendance

at

no

charge

to

the

student

or

the

student’s

family

5

if

the

student’s

family

has

a

family

income

that

is

less

than

6

or

equal

to

300

percent

of

the

federal

poverty

level.

For

the

7

fiscal

year

beginning

July

1,

2026,

and

ending

June

30,

2027,

8

the

bill

requires

each

school

to

operate

such

a

program

if

9

the

student’s

family

has

a

family

income

that

is

less

than

or

10

equal

to

400

percent

of

the

federal

poverty

level.

For

the

11

fiscal

year

beginning

July

1,

2027,

and

for

each

fiscal

year

12

thereafter,

the

bill

requires

each

school

to

operate

such

a

13

program

regardless

of

the

income

of

the

student’s

family.

14

The

bill

appropriates

from

the

general

fund

of

the

state

to

15

the

department

of

education

an

amount

necessary

to

make

the

16

payments

to

schools

necessary

to

cover

the

costs

of

providing

17

free

school

lunches

and

school

breakfasts

that

are

not

covered

18

by

any

Act

of

Congress

and

appropriated

to

the

state

of

Iowa

19

for

use

in

connection

with

school

breakfast

or

lunch

programs.

20

The

bill

requires

the

state

board

of

education

to

adopt

rules

21

to

administer

these

provisions.

The

bill

makes

conforming

22

changes.

23

The

bill

takes

effect

upon

enactment.

24

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