Bill Text: HI SB2465 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To School Lunchtime Hours.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-22 - Referred to EDU, WAM. [SB2465 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2018-SB2465-Introduced.html
|
THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2465 |
|
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018 |
|
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to School Lunchtime Hours.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that having a sufficient amount of time to eat lunch is critical to students' health and academic performance. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, students should have at least twenty minutes to eat lunch, starting from when they sit down to eat and not from when they enter the cafeteria to get their food. Sufficient time to eat lunch is linked to a better nutritional status; healthy foods tend to take more time for students to consume. In turn, better nutritional status directly affects academic achievement, conduct, and overall school performance. Sufficient time to eat lunch also allows students to socialize with friends, which is an important aspect of healthy eating at school. Moreover, high food waste is associated with not having enough time to eat.
The legislature further finds that lunchtime eating habits are affected by the time of day students eat lunch. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that "[s]cheduling lunch at mid-day, instead of morning hours, reduces waste because students are most likely to be hungry. This also prevents transient hunger at other times of the day that can hinder attention and learning." The United States Department of Agriculture also notes the benefits of having recess before the lunch period, as opposed to afterwards: when recess is scheduled before lunch, students burn off energy and have an opportunity to socialize, better preparing students to eat during lunch.
The purpose of this Act is to ensure students have sufficient time to eat lunch, and to ensure that lunch is scheduled at an appropriate time.
SECTION 2. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§302A- School lunchtime period. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary,
schools shall provide students with a lunchtime period that is no less than
thirty minutes long. The lunchtime
period shall begin no earlier than 11:20 A.M. and end no later than 1:40 P.M."
SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2019.
|
INTRODUCED BY: |
_____________________________ |
|
|
|
Report Title:
School Schedule; Lunchtime Period
Description:
Requires schools to provide a lunchtime period of at least thirty minutes in length. Requires that the lunchtime period fall between 11:20 A.M. and 1:40 P.M. Effective 7/1/2019.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
