SB 785 Michigan Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Education: meals; free school lunch and breakfast program; modify. Amends sec. 30d of 1979 PA 94 (MCL 388.1630d). TIE BAR WITH: SB 0784'26

SB 785 amends Michigan's school aid law to allocate $200 million from the state school aid fund and $1.6 million from the general fund for the 2025-2026 school year to support free breakfast and lunch programs. It requires participating public and nonpublic schools (serving pre-K through 12th grade) to provide meals at no cost to all students, maximize federal reimbursement through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), and implement policies to determine student eligibility. The bill covers the gap between federal meal reimbursement rates and actual costs, including additional funding for the Great Start Readiness Program. Schools must also offer dietary accommodations (like gluten-free meals) and prioritize Michigan-sourced food where practical.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 11, 2026 Last action Jun 3, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Senate Introduced Bill Substitute (S-1) · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended to streamline eligibility requirements and clarify how state funds are used for free school meals. The primary change removes the requirement for participating entities to meet specific federal program mandates, replacing it with a simpler enrollment requirement. Additionally, the text was updated to explicitly include 'reduced cost meal reimbursement rates' in the scope of family income data collection.
Scope change
The bill's scope was narrowed regarding eligibility criteria by removing a list of specific operational mandates that entities must follow to receive funding, while simultaneously clarifying the types of data required for eligibility determinations.
ELIGIBILITY

Replaced a complex list of five specific operational requirements (such as maximizing federal reimbursement and meeting state standards) with a single requirement that the entity must be enrolled in the free school lunch and breakfast program.

REQUIREMENT

Expanded the data collection requirement to explicitly include information needed for determining 'reduced cost meal reimbursement rates' in addition to federal free meal eligibility.

TECHNICAL

Corrected formatting errors in the bill text, such as removing stray spaces before words like 'participating entity' and 'great start readiness program'.

Floor votes

How they voted

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
4
Key actions
1
Committee
3
Jun 3, 2026
Committee
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE WITH SUBSTITUTE (S-1)
upper
Jun 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
REPORTED FAVORABLY WITH SUBSTITUTE (S-1) 6/2/2026
upper
Feb 11, 2026
Committee
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
upper
Feb 11, 2026
Introduced
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR DAYNA POLEHANKI
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Dayna Polehanki
Dayna Polehanki
DDemocratic
MI
5