The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.North Dakota House Bill 1553 Establishes Free School Meals Funded by Legacy Earnings
Last action · February 11, 2025: Second reading, failed to pass, yeas 14 nays 75Sponsors: LaurieBeth Hager and 10 others
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 1553 requires public and nonpublic schools to offer breakfast and lunch at no cost to all students, while prohibiting the denial or confiscation of meals due to unpaid balances. The measure appropriates $140,000,000 from the department of public instruction's operating fund for school meal grants for the 2025-2027 , funded through legacy earnings allocations.
Families across public and nonpublic schools would receive free breakfast and lunch for all students regardless of income, backed by a $140 million state and specific prohibitions against school meal debt penalties.
- The North Dakota Century Code contains the codified general and permanent laws of North Dakota. context
- The legacy fund in North Dakota receives a portion of oil and gas tax revenues, with earnings managed according to state constitutional provisions. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
students
Receive breakfast and lunch at no cost and are protected from debt-related penalties or meal withholding.
school districts
Must adopt policies offering free meals to all students, publish meal policies, and follow grant guidelines.
nonpublic schools
Must offer breakfast and lunch to all students at no cost under the updated school meals policy.
parents and guardians
May receive direct communication regarding meal accounts and are encouraged to apply for federal meal programs.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do students have to pay for breakfast and lunch under this bill?
Can a school punish a student if their family has unpaid meal debt?
Where does the funding for the school meal grants come from?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Failed in the House.
Procedural history
4 actions- Feb 11, 2025HouseSecond reading, failed to pass, yeas 14 nays 75
- Feb 10, 2025HouseCommitteeReported back, do not pass, placed on calendar 8 5 1
- Feb 10, 2025HouseCommitteeCommittee Hearing 10:00
- Jan 20, 2025HouseIntroducedIntroduced, first reading, referred Education Committee
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Legacy Fund Link to School Meals
The bill establishes a direct financial pipeline from state legacy earnings fund transfers down to the department of public instruction's operating fund for school meal grants.
Connected Entities
Sources
ndlegis.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz50Current news / social attention level
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