Bill HF2387

1.1          A bill for an act
1.2          relating to education finance; reducing school food waste; authorizing free school
1.3          milk during the lunch meal in place of a full school lunch; appropriating money;
1.4          amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 124D.118.
1.5          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6          Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 124D.118, is amended to read:
1.7          124D.118 SCHOOL MILK PROGRAM.
1.8                          Subdivision 1.Legislative findings. (a) The legislature finds that for best health and
1.9          well-being, school children in the state should receive at least one serving of milk each day.
1.10       (b) The legislature finds that the school milk program established in this section is to
1.11       provide districts for kindergartners provides schools in the state with added resources so
1.12       that all kindergarten students in public and nonpublic schools may have access to wholesome
1.13       milk on a daily basis.
1.14       (c) The legislature finds that the school lunch milk program provides an additional
1.15       nutritional benefit to students. The legislature also finds that some students interested in
1.16       receiving only school milk at lunch take a complete school lunch and consume only the
1.17       milk. The school lunch milk program provides schools with resources so that students in
1.18       public and nonpublic schools may have daily access to school milk to supplement meals
1.19       brought from home, eliminating the need for a student to take a complete school meal only
1.20       to obtain the school milk at lunch.
1.21                       Subd. 2.Establishment; school participation Kindergarten milk. Each district school
1.22       in the state is encouraged to participate in the state-supported school milk program for
2.1          kindergartners. Participating districts schools must provide one serving of milk on each
2.2          school day to each kindergarten student attending a public or nonpublic school in the district.
2.3          No student is required to accept the milk that is provided by the district. The program must
2.4          be promoted and operated under the direction of the commissioner or the commissioner's
2.5          designee.
2.6                          Subd. 2a.School lunch milk. Each school in the state is encouraged to participate in
2.7          the state-supported school lunch milk program. The program provides one half-pint of milk
2.8          for a student desiring a school milk at lunch who does not take part in the school lunch
2.9          program on that day. The school lunch milk program provides milk to students and eliminates
2.10       unnecessary food waste.
2.11                       Subd. 3.Program guidelines; duties of the commissioner. (a) The commissioner shall
2.12       must:
2.13       (1) encourage all districts to participate in the school milk program for kindergartners
2.14       and the school lunch milk program;
2.15       (2) prepare program guidelines for the school milk program for kindergartners, not
2.16       subject to chapter 14 until July 1, 1998, which will effectively and efficiently distribute
2.17       appropriated and donated money to participating districts; and
2.18       (3) seek donations and matching funds from appropriate private and public sources.
2.19       (b) Program guidelines may provide for disbursement to districts through a mechanism
2.20       of prepayments or by reimbursement for approved program expenses.
2.21       (c) The commissioner may establish program guidelines for school lunch milk served
2.22       in place of a school lunch by a participant in the national school lunch program under section
2.23       124D.111.
2.24                       Subd. 4.Reimbursement; breakfast milk and school lunch milk. (a) In accordance
2.25       with program guidelines, the commissioner shall must reimburse each participating public
2.26       or nonpublic school 20 cents for each half-pint of milk that is served to kindergarten students
2.27       and is not part of a school lunch or breakfast reimbursed under section 124D.111 or
2.28       124D.1158.
2.29       (b) The commissioner must reimburse each public or nonpublic school participating in
2.30       the free meals program for each half-pint of milk served to a student who brings a meal
2.31       from home on that day or otherwise forgoes a school lunch provided at no cost on that day.
2.32       The reimbursement rate for each half-pint of milk equals the greater of 50 cents or the
3.1          special school milk rate established by the United States Department of Agriculture Food
3.2          and Nutrition Services division for that school year.

3.3          EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for fiscal year 2026 and later.

3.4          Sec. 2. APPROPRIATIONS; SCHOOL MILK.
 3.5                        Subdivision 1.Department of Education. The sums indicated in this section are
3.6          appropriated from the general fund to the Department of Education in the fiscal years
3.7          designated.
3.8                          Subd. 2.School milk. For kindergarten milk and school lunch milk aid under Minnesota
3.9          Statutes, section 124D.118: