Free meals for all students would come at a cost of about $40 million a year for the state of Delaware.
A proposed law in Delaware would provide free breakfast and lunch to all students – with a price tag of $120 million over the next three years – moves on after debate.
House Bill 125, sponsored by Rep. Sherae’a Moore, D-Middletown, sparked a healthy discussion in the House Education Committee meeting Wednesday.
The bill points out that during the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture eased program restrictions to allow for free breakfast and lunch for all students.
The original fiscal note of the bill had state costs that included:
$38,866,149 ($8,475,484 for breakfast and $30,390,665 for lunch) in fiscal year 2025
$40,665,131 ($8,806,214 for breakfast and $31,858,917 for lunch) in fiscal year 2026
$42,558,736 ($9,184,993 for breakfast and $33,373,744 for lunch) in fiscal year 2027
One breakfast for one student is estimated to cost the state between 30 cents and $2.35 depending on the need level of the school, and one lunch for one student is estimated to cost the state between 40 cents and $3.85. There is no cost to the state for federally reimbursed free breakfasts or lunches.
Approximately 10,435,690 breakfasts and 18,268,270 lunches are served in Delaware schools each year.
Several legislators on both sides of the aisle believed that the state cost was too hefty, and children in affluent families don’t necessarily need free meals at the cost of taxpayer dollars.
Rep. Valerie Jones Giltner, R-Georgetown, said there’s families in Delaware who simply do not need to have free meals. She suggested some sort of means testing to only provide free meals to a certain number of students, who need it based on their family’s economic situation.
Rep. Stell Parker Selby, D-Milton, who spent 34 years as an educator in public schools, agreed that not every student needs a free meal.
While the meals would be funded with taxpayer dollars, Rep. Eric Morrison, D-Glasgow, pointed out that the bill does not call for a tax increase.
Rep. Sean Lynn, D-Dover, called his fellow legislators out, saying that they don’t bat an eye to spend millions of dollars on other needs, but spend so much time debating something that would benefit Delaware’s future.
He acknowledged the hefty state cost, but said if there’s one thing he’s willing to take a risk on, it’s the students of the First State.
Parker Selby, while against the bill, said she loves the idea of making sure everyone is fed, and wanted to create ways to make sure students who are currently given free meals aren’t stigmatized in any way.
Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha, D-Wilmington, threw another topic into the discussion, bringing up the fact that there’s a ton of food waste. He said he’s in low-income schools a lot, and cafeteria workers can confirm that there’s tons of food that goes to waste.
Legislators agreed that it’s hard for a student to learn, behave, socialize and succeed if they are hungry.
Several times throughout the meeting, committee members questioned why this – since it’s such a big ask – was not included in the Department of Education’s budget presentation to the Joint Finance Committee in February.
Despite some concerns, the bill was released by committee and heads to the House floor for debate.
Teacher mobility
Senate Bill 188, sponsored by Sen. Laura Sturgeon-D-Hockessin and chair of the Senate Education Committee, enacts the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact.
In short, teachers’ licensure and certification would be transferable to any state in the compact.
This is another way the legislature hopes to attract teachers to the state to combat the educator shortage.
The Council of State Governments partnered with the Department of Defense and the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification to support the mobility of licensed teachers through the development of this new interstate compact.
There is no fiscal impact on the state if the bill becomes law.
The bill was released by committee and will be sent to the House floor.
School-based behavioral health services
House Bill 5, sponsored by House Speaker Valerie Longhurst, D-Bear, charges the Department of Health & Social Services to apply to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for a State Plan Amendment that would allow for reimbursement of medically-necessary behavioral health services without an Individualized Educational Program (IEP) or Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP).
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reimburses the state about $65 for every $100 billed for allowable services provided to Medicaid-enrolled students.
The Delaware Medicaid State Plan currently limits the reimbursement of Medicaid-covered, school based behavioral health services to those provided under an IEP or IFSP.
If passed, the bill would cost the state $325,000 a year, and a one-time cost of $1.2 million in the first year of implementation.
The bill was released by committee and will be sent to the House floor.
Disobeying school bus stops
House Bill 306, sponsored by Rep. Kim Williams, D-Marshallton and chair of the House Education Committee, permits the Division of Motor Vehicles to refuse to renew the registration of a vehicle that operated in violation of the law requiring stopping for school buses.
The evidence of this would be from videos provided through school bus safety cameras, which most buses in the state have now.
The DMV would only be able to refuse registration renewal if the violator:
Fails to pay the civil penalty by voluntary assessment
Fails to request a hearing within the required time
Fails to submit an affidavit stating that the owner or operator identified was not the driver, or if the owner or operator identified by the owner is found responsible at a hearing and fails to pay as ordered by the court, or requests a hearing and fails to appear they will be considered in non-compliance.
The bill was not released by committee, mainly due to concerns that refusing registration is too harsh of a penalty, especially for adults working jobs and families with just one car.
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN’s Michael Smerconish’s YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
