(Bismarck, ND) — North Dakota voters will decide whether public schools should provide free breakfasts and lunches to all students. A constitutional measure to pay for the meals will appear on the November 3 ballot. The measure would add a clause to the state constitution requiring all public school districts and charter schools to provide breakfast and lunch, regardless of their ability to pay. The schools will be reimbursed by the state as long as they meet all the federal funding requirements. If the state legislature can’t find the money for the meals, the funding would come from the legacy earnings fund. The Secretary of State’s office says it approved more than 49-thousand signatures on the petition to put the measure on the ballot, far surpassing the required signatures needed.
