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Bills from the 2019–20 session

Assembly Bill 84

Imposing requirements related to school lunch and breakfast programs in certain schools. (FE)

Stopped in committee

It had a but no committee vote, so it never came up for a vote. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Mar 19, 2019

  2. Committee, stopped here

    Stopped here. It had a hearing but no committee vote.

  3. Assembly vote, not reached

  4. Senate vote, not reached

  5. Governor, not reached

  6. Law, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Apr 1, 2020: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

It sat with the Assembly Committee on Education.

Read the bill

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What it would have done

Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

This bill 1) requires certain schools to provide a school lunch or breakfast to a pupil who requests such a meal; 2) prohibits those schools from taking certain actions against a pupil who is unable to pay for those meals; and 3) requires those schools to provide information and take certain actions related to applications for free or reduced-price meals.

The bill defines “school” as a public school, private school, charter school, tribal school, the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, or the Wisconsin Educational Services Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, provided the school, program, or center receives state aid for providing school lunches and breakfasts (free or reduced-price meals).

Read the full summary

Under the bill, the school board of a school district, governing body of a private school, operator of an independent charter school, governing body of a tribal school, director of the program, or director of the center (governing body) must provide a meal that is of a similar quality to a free or reduced-price meal (quality meal) to a pupil who requests such a meal, regardless of the pupil's ability to pay for the meal, and prohibits the governing body from providing a meal of inferior quality in place of a quality meal. If the pupil is homeless and is enrolled in a public school or independent charter school, the governing body of the school must provide the quality meal to the pupil at no cost to the pupil.

The bill prohibits the governing body of a school from doing any of the following:

1. Publicly identifying or stigmatizing a pupil who is unable to pay for a quality meal or who has outstanding debt related to a quality meal.

2. Requiring a pupil who is unable to pay for a quality meal, as a condition of receiving the quality meal, to do chores or other work not expected of a pupil who has the ability to pay.

3. Requiring a pupil who has received a quality meal to relinquish or throw away that quality meal because the pupil is unable to pay for the quality meal or has outstanding debt related to a quality meal.

4. Communicating directly with a pupil concerning the pupil's inability to pay for a quality meal or to pay outstanding debt related to a quality meal.

5. Requiring a pupil or the pupil's parent or guardian to pay fees or costs charged by a collection agency retained by the governing body to collect outstanding debt related to a quality meal.

Finally, the bill requires the governing body of a school annually to provide certain information regarding the application process to receive free or reduced-price meals to the parent or guardian of each pupil enrolled in the school, and, if the governing body determines that a pupil is eligible for free or reduced-price meals but has not submitted an application, the governing body must submit an application on the pupil's behalf.

Who's behind it

16 lawmakers are its ⁠. 9 are Democrats and 7 are Republicans.

6 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 22 names

Authors (16)

Signed on in support (6)

What it would cost

State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

Versions and amendments

Every text the Legislature printed for this bill, including proposed changes. Each opens on the Legislature's site.

What happened

  1. Apr 1, 2020

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. May 30, 2019

    The committee held a public hearing.

  3. May 21, 2019

    1 more representative signed on in support.

  4. Mar 28, 2019

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  5. Mar 19, 2019

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Education.

  6. Mar 19, 2019

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Mar 19, 2019 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Tauchen, Ramthun, Myers, Ohnstad, Vining, C. Taylor, Skowronski, Novak, Steffen, Subeck, Kulp, Pope, Sinicki, Spreitzer, Sargent, Zamarripa and Pronschinske; cosponsored by Senators L. Taylor, Cowles, Bernier, Smith and Hansen

  2. Mar 19, 2019 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Education

  3. Mar 28, 2019 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. May 8, 2019 · Assembly

    Representative Pope withdrawn as a coauthor

  5. May 21, 2019 · Assembly

    Representative Bowen added as a coauthor

  6. May 30, 2019 · Assembly

    Public hearing held

  7. Oct 14, 2019 · Assembly

    Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 offered by Representative Tauchen

  8. Apr 1, 2020 · Assembly

    Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

Terms on this page

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

More in the glossary

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate. More in the glossary

From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

More in the glossary

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1

More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis

More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor

More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor

More in the glossary

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate

More in the glossary