Pa. House passes slew of legislation, including bill to address school meal debt

The exterior of the Pennsylvania state Capitol. (Photo by Amanda Mustard for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star).

While Gov. Josh Shapiro and other leaders in the state legislature expressed confidence that they are nearing a budget deal after officially missing the July 1 deadline, the state House passed several other pieces of legislation on Monday. 

Here’s a look at a few of those bills:

House Bill 2175: Create office of Child Advocate

Thirty-four states currently have permanent Child Advocate offices, but Pennsylvania is not one of them. A bill sponsored by state Rep. Christina Sappey (D-Chester) would codify the office as a permanent independent state agency within the Department of Human Services. 

“Unlike the Department of Aging, which has had an ombudsman for advocates for older Pennsylvanians for decades, the Office of Child Advocate is not currently a permanent office in our Commonwealth,” Sappey said. The office was created by executive order in 2019 by then-Gov. Tom Wolf, and Sappey said a future administration could eliminate it. 

“The number of children in our state that are subject to horrific abuse and neglect deserve to have someone in their government that is dedicated to education and prevention of abuse,” Sappey said. “They deserve to have someone who can work across agencies on their behalf to uncover abuse, to ensure that those that commit these heinous crimes are adjudicated.”

State Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa (R-Fayette), who voted against the legislation, argued that offices including the Pennsylvania Auditor General and Attorney General, and Department of Human Services already conduct this necessary work. 

“This bill does nothing except further grow government to the detriment of the vulnerable children and the care of our Commonwealth,” Krupa said

The bill passed by a 111-91 vote and advances to the Senate. 

House Bill 2180: Create School Meal Debt Fund

State Rep. Emily Kinkead’s (D-Allegheny) legislation to establish a School Meal Debt Fund within the state Department of Education passed by a 118-84 vote on Monday. 

“This bill simply allows us to ensure that kids can eat when they are in school, regardless of whether or not they can pay,” she said on the House floor prior to the vote. 

House Bill 2180 would establish this office by providing $80 million to assist public schools in “discharging school meal debt” held by students beginning in the 2024-2025 school year. 

She said the bill also prohibits “school lunch debt shaming,” and added that students perform better when they are not hungry. 

“Kids should not be the ones that are responsible for addressing school lunch debt,” Kinkead said. 

House Bill 1990: Train school nurses to treat seizures

School nurses and school professional employees can complete training related to responding to a student having a seizure, but it is not required by state law. A bill from state Rep. Carol Kazeem (D-Delaware) which passed the state House on Monday by a 178-24 vote would change that. 

“This bill is not just talking about only compliance, but it’s about protecting the safety of our children statewide, our children,” she said. “This will put many families at ease knowing that every school professional has trained individuals who can respond effectively during such a medical emergency.”

Kazeem said she has a son who has seizures and believes this legislation takes a proactive step toward ensuring schools in the state are equipped to handle seizures in students.

The training needed by the school nurses and others in the school would have to be approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. 

State Rep. Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon) also spoke in support of the legislation. He said his wife also suffers from seizures. 

“Every day, when I come to Harrisburg, I unfortunately await the same call as the prime sponsor talked about,” Diamond said. “I dread the day when I have to go home when I get that call because my wife’s having a seizure and somebody is around her who doesn’t know what to do.”

House Bill 2420: Grants to serve local produce in school meals

This bipartisan legislation introduced by lawmakers from different parties and regions of the commonwealth, which passed by a 145-57 vote, would establish the “Keystone Fresh Program.”

State Rep. Danilo Burgos (D-Philadelphia), prime sponsor of the bill, said that it would increase the quantity and variety of Pennsylvania products served in school meals. Of the more than l $729 million Pennsylvania receives annually from the federal government, schools in the state spend less than 2% of those funds on Pennsylvania-grown foods. 

“The Keystone Fresh Act program will be a big step towards increasing the share of Pennsylvania’s farmers and producers by offering grants to schools to offset the cost of purchasing local food to expand for their meals,” Burgos said. 

He added that the bill also provides funding for equipment and other technical assistance for farmers and producers in the state to sell their products to schools.

State Rep. Jonathan Fritz (R-Wayne), a prime co-sponsor of the legislation, recalled growing up on farmland in rural Pennsylvania with a garden. 

“There was nothing like fresh out of the ground vegetables, the snap and the crunch of freshly plucked carrots, the texture and the taste of fresh from the ground lettuce,” Fritz said. “House Bill 2420, facilitates bringing Pennsylvania farm grown produce into our schools cafeterias.”

The bill advances to the Senate. 

The Pennsylvania House will return for a voting session on Tuesday at 11 a.m..

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