STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1193

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: S.B. No. 789

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 789, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SCHOOL CAFETERIA MEAL COSTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the Department of Education to charge no less than one-quarter of the cost of preparing a school meal for each school meal, to be repealed if the Department of Education fails to meet the statutorily established Local Farm to School Meal goal.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education; Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute; Healthy Eating, Active Living Coalition; Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi Education Caucus; Hawaiʻi Foodbank; Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network Speaks!; and two individuals.

Your Committee finds that access to nutritious meals is necessary for students' academic success and overall well-being. However, the rising cost of school meals places an undue burden on families, leading to decreasing student participation in school meal programs. This measure will reduce the required meal cost offset collection and increase affordability for school meals in Department of Education schools.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting a preamble;

(2) Specifying that the price for school meals shall be set by the Department of Education to ensure that monies received from the sale of the meals shall be no more than one-quarter of the cost of preparing meals;

(3) Deleting language which would have repealed the measure if the Department of Education fails to meet the statutorily established Local Farm to School Meal goal;

(4) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 789, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 789, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

____________________________

JUSTIN H. WOODSON, Chair