Committee hears state-funded universal free school meals bill; DEED cites 100,263 students in fiscal estimate

House Bill 12, introduced as a measure to provide free breakfast and lunch for any public-school student who requests it, drew extensive testimony and questioning in the House Education Committee on Feb. 24.

Sarah Snowberger, chief of staff to Rep. Deibert, and legislative aide Maddie Hall presented the bill on behalf of Rep. Deibert. “This bill would direct the state to provide sufficient funding to all districts in the state to have breakfast and lunch for any student who requests it free of cost to the student,” Snowberger said, and described research linking school meals to improved academic outcomes and reduced stigma.

Clarissa Hayes of the Food Research & Action Center urged support, saying universal meals eliminate unpaid meal debt and increase participation. “Offering meals to all students at no charge regardless of their household income is the future for school nutrition departments and schools,” she testified.

Trevor Storrs, president and CEO of the Alaska Children's Trust, also testified in support and cited Kids Count data showing nearly 20 percent of Alaska children experience food insecurity during the year.

Heather Heineken, director of finance and support services at the Department of Education and Early Development, answered fiscal questions for the committee and said the current fiscal calculation is based on 100,263 students and 2022–23 cost data; she told the committee that the estimate does not include homeschool students and does not contain a geographic cost factor. “This calculation is based on 100,263 students,” Heineken said.

Committee members probed whether the fiscal note covers districts not currently participating in federal nutrition programs, how a universal program would account for remote communities with higher food and transport costs, and what existing federal grants or programs (for example, migrant education or Indian education) were accounted for in the fiscal estimate. Heineken said the fiscal note excludes roughly nine districts that do not participate in the federal program and that additional districts opting into a universal program could increase costs.

Members also asked for granular information requested for follow-up: current district reimbursements, typical meal costs in urban, rural and off-road communities, the number of students actually participating day-to-day versus total enrollment, and whether the bill's design would allow districts time to plan for kitchen and staffing needs. Sponsor staff said they would provide district-level cost examples and work with DEED to gather additional data.

After extended questioning and requests for supplemental data, Rep. Story held HB 12 for further information. The committee did not take a vote.