HB210 • 2026

School meal debt; each school board to annually report.

An Act to amend and reenact § 22.1-79.7 of the Code of Virginia, relating to school meal debt; annual report.

Education

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Price
Last action: 2026-04-02
Official status: Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide specific details on how school boards should address meal debt or consequences for non-compliance.

School Meal Debt Reporting

This act requires Virginia's school boards to report yearly on unpaid meal costs in their schools, which the Department of Education will compile and share with lawmakers.

What This Bill Does

Requires each local school board to send an annual report about the amount of unpaid meal costs in their schools to the Department of Education.
Directs the Department of Education to gather all these yearly reports from different school boards and give this information to the General Assembly.

Who It Names or Affects

Local school boards across Virginia.
The Department of Education.
Virginia’s General Assembly.

Terms To Know

Department of Education: A state agency that oversees and supports public education in Virginia.
General Assembly: The legislative branch of the Virginia government, responsible for making laws.

Limits and Unknowns

Does not specify how school boards should address meal debt or provide solutions.
Does not mention consequences if a school board fails to report as required.

Bill History

2026-04-02 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 54 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-04-02 Governor
Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0054)
2026-03-10 House
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026
2026-03-10 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-06 House
Signed by Speaker
2026-03-06 Senate
Signed by President
2026-03-06 House
Enrolled
2026-03-06 House
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB210ER)
2026-03-06 House
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB210)
2026-03-02 Senate
Read third time
2026-03-02 Senate
Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-02-27 Senate
Rules suspended
2026-02-27 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-02-27 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-02-27 Senate
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
2026-02-26 Education and Health
Reported from Education and Health (15-Y 0-N)
2026-02-19 Public Education
Assigned Education sub: Public Education
2026-01-28 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
2026-01-28 Education and Health
Referred to Committee on Education and Health
2026-01-28 House
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB210)
2026-01-27 House
Read third time and passed House (89-Y 10-N 0-A)
2026-01-26 House
Read second time and engrossed
2026-01-23 House
Read first time
2026-01-21 Education
Reported from Education (20-Y 2-N)
2026-01-20 K-12 Subcommittee
Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N)
2026-01-19 K-12 Subcommittee
Assigned HED sub: K-12 Subcommittee
2026-01-07 House
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103759D
2026-01-07 Education
Referred to Committee on Education

Official Summary Text

School meal debt; annual report.
Requires each school board to annually report to the Department of Education the amount of school meal debt in the local school division and directs the Department to annually aggregate and submit such reports to the General Assembly, provided that no such report contains any personally identifiable student information. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Commission to End Hunger.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

An Act to amend and reenact §
22.1-79.7
of the Code of Virginia, relating to school meal debt; annual report.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §
22.1-79.7
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§
22.1-79.7
. School meal policies; donations.
A. Each local school board shall adopt policies that:
1. Prohibit school board employees from requiring a student who cannot pay for a meal at school or who owes a school meal debt to throw away or discard a meal after it has been served to him, do chores or other work to pay for such meals, or wear a wristband or hand stamp;
2. Require school board employees to direct any communication relating to a school meal debt to the student's parent. Such policy may permit such communication to be made by a letter addressed to the parent to be sent home with the student;
3. Prohibit the school board from filing a lawsuit against a student or the student's parent because the student cannot pay for a meal at school or owes a school meal debt; and
4. Prohibit the school board or any school board employee from denying a student the opportunity to participate in any extracurricular school activity because the student cannot pay for a meal at school or owes a school meal debt.
B. Any school board may solicit and receive any donation or other funds for the purpose of eliminating or offsetting any school meal debt at any time and shall use any such funds solely for such purpose.
C. Each school board shall annually report to the Department the amount of school meal debt in the local school division. The Department shall annually aggregate and submit such reports to the General Assembly. No such report shall contain any personally identifiable student information.