Act NOW to Keep Breakfast After the Bell Moving!

2014 Legislative Session - March 5, 2014 Send a message NOW to keep the Breakfast After the Bell bill moving!   The Senate Budget bill (SB 6002) as passed by the House today included language that would fund the Breakfast After the Bell bill (HB 2536), should it pass. The legislative session is scheduled to end next week.  Time is running out and we need your advocacy NOW! ACTION NEEDED: Please send a message to the Senate bill sponsors: Senators Steve Litzow, Jan Angel, Rodney Tom, Barbara Bailey, Andy Billig,Joe Fain, Karen Keiser and cc; it to Senator Andy Hill asking them to move the Breakfast After the Bell bill forward!  We need as many people as possible to send messages! You can take this message below, personalize it, and send it!     Dear Senator: With 8 days left in session, there are many issues on the table that if, left unaddressed, would have negative and costly outcomes.  That is why I encourage you to move the Breakfast after the Bell (BAB) bill forward.  It builds upon a current mandate, addresses a problem that affects student performance, and produces real results!  With BAB legislation passed in the House and included in the House budget, I believe it can and should move forward in the Senate. ESHB 2536 is a tool to address childhood hunger by offering hungry school children better access to breakfast, the most important meal of the day.  A number of states already have enacted Breakfast after the Bell.  You can hear about New Mexico's experience here.  In addition, BAB is working at schools right here in our state.  Says one local principal "Our teachers are SOLD on it... We don't consider it a disruption; it would be a disruption for them to go thru the day or up until lunch being hungry".   ESHB 2536 would allow the state to pilot BAB in high needs schools for two years before requiring it in elementary schools where over 85% of kids are eligible for free and reduced meals.  Currently, high needs schools are already required to provide breakfast and schools experiencing financial hardship are able to opt out. Help the hungry children in your district by funding BAB in the Senate budget and moving the enabling legislation, ESHB 2536. Thank you for taking action, and please forward this alert on to your networks!