REFERENCE TITLE: school meals; school personnel; requirements

 

 

 

 

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

 

 

 

SB 1697

 

Introduced by

Senators Diaz: Fernandez, Gonzales, Hatathlie, Kuby, Miranda, Ortiz, Sears

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

 

amending title 15, chapter 1, ARTICLE 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 15-120.08; relating to school meal programs.

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 


Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 15, chapter 1, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-120.08, to read:

START_STATUTE15-120.08. School meals; prohibited conduct by school personnel

A. Each public school shall ensure that each school employee, volunteer or contractor who interacts with any student whose parent has not paid the student's school meal fees does not either:

1. Shame the student or treat the student differently from the student's peers because of the unpaid school meal fees.

2. Serve the student a different meal than the meals that the employee, volunteer or contractor serves to students who do not have unpaid school meal fees.  This paragraph does not prohibit a school or an employee, volunteer or contractor of a school from serving an alternative meal to a student who requires a special meal for a dietary or religious reason.

B. Employees, volunteers and contractors of any public school that serves meals that meet the nutrition standards prescribed in section 15-242 to students during the instructional day may not take disciplinary action against a student that results in the denial or delay of a meal that meets the nutrition standards prescribed in section 15-242. END_STATUTE