BOSTON—Earlier this month, Governor Charlie Baker signed into law Senator Sal DiDomenico’s bill to fight childhood hunger and boost participation rates in school breakfast programs in schools with high percentages of students from low-income families in the Commonwealth. The bill, An Act regarding breakfast after the bell, requires all public K‑12 schools with 60 percent or more students eligible for free or reduced-price meals under the federal National School Lunch Program to offer breakfast after theinstructional day begins.

Senator DiDomenico has been a longtime champion of anti-hunger policies in the Massachusetts Senate and has sponsored this Breakfast After the Bell bill for the past two legislative sessions. Earlier in theyear, he was the recipient of the 2020 Breakfast Hero Award from the national anti-hunger campaign No Kid Hungry for his advocacy on Breakfast After the Bell and his work to end childhood hunger in theCommonwealth. This new law is the culmination of many years work and advocacy by Senator DiDomenico, his staff, and food security advocates from across the state. 

“As childhood hunger rates continue to spike due to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, it has never been more important to increase our school breakfast participation rates and provide our students with the nutrition they need to start their day ready to learn,” said Senator Sal DiDomenico, theSenate sponsor of the bill. “I have seen the success of Breakfast After the Bell in my own community, and I am confident that this policy will help to ensure every child in the Commonwealth has access to a stigma-free and nutritious breakfast. Thank you to Senate President Spilka and Speaker DeLeo for making Breakfast After the Bell a legislative priority, as well as my partners Representative Vega, Representative Vargas, and the Rise and Shine Coalition for their tireless advocacy on this legislation.”

“When we first began advocating for this bill, 1 in 9 children in Massachusetts faced food insecurity and nearly 150,000 low income students were not accessing school breakfast. Today, 1 in 5 children is at risk of food insecurity, so now more than ever many more families will likely benefit from school meals,” said Catherine D’Amato, president and CEO of The Greater Boston Food Bank, which led thestatewide Rise and Shine Massachusetts coalition. “Passing this bill was a team effort by more than fifty organizations and school stakeholders across the state in coordination with our legislative champions. The Breakfast After the Bell legislation will help us move to a more equitable public education system, one in which all students get the nutrition they need to succeed for years to come.”

 “The COVID-19 crisis and resulting increase in food insecurity highlight the importance of child nutrition programs, such as school breakfast,” said Erin McAleer, President of Project Bread.

“Project Bread stands ready to support schools and districts in implementation of this legislation, working hand-in-hand to provide the most successful school breakfast program possible. We are grateful to thelegislature for their overwhelming support of Breakfast After the Bell, and especially to Senator DiDomenico and House sponsors, Representatives Vargas and Vega, for their commitment to ensuring that more Massachusetts students can start the school day with the nutrition they need to learn and thrive.”

Massachusetts currently requires all schools with high percentages of students from low-income families to provide breakfast to every eligible student. However, because breakfast is typically offered before thebell and in the cafeteria, participation levels are low—less than 40 percent—compared to 80‑90 percent participation for free and reduced lunch. Moving breakfast from before the bell to after the bell is a proven strategy to boost breakfast participation and ensure that all students have the nutrition they need to start their day ready to learn.

This law will require schools across Massachusetts serving low-income students to offer breakfast afterthe start of the instructional day through a variety of delivery models, including breakfast in theclassroom, grab-and-go, and second-chance breakfast. This flexibility allows school districts to select themodel that best fits their students’ needs.

As a federally reimbursed program, Breakfast After the Bell has the potential to provide up to $25 million statewide to Massachusetts school districts that increase participation rates to 80 percent and above. These payments are made directly to school nutrition departments, helping to support jobs, update kitchen equipment, and provide healthier menu options. 

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BOSTON­– Senator Sal DiDomenico recently announced that his amendment providing $5 million for the development of a common application for MassHealth enrollees to more easily access the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was included as part of the Senate’s General Governmental Bond Bill. DiDomenico has been longtime champion of food security in the Commonwealth and has been filing legislation for years to streamline the process for individuals and families applying for federal SNAP benefits.

“I am very pleased that my amendment was included as a key component of the General Governmental Bond Bill,” said Senator DiDomenico. “As more individuals and families become unemployed and lose private health insurance, they will undoubtedly need both health care and nutritional benefits. This $5M will go a long way towards making the common application I have been advocating for a reality and will play a crucial role in helping to connect people with the food resources they need.” 

Senator DiDomenico is the lead sponsor of An Act improving public health through a common application for core food, health and safety-net programs, also known as the SNAP Gap bill. The SNAP Gap refers to the over 700,000 people who are MassHealth recipients and likely eligible for SNAP but are not receiving nutritional benefits. MassHealth and SNAP, as well as many other safety-net programs, use separate application processes that ask for similar information. This duplicates efforts and creates more work for both the state and low-income consumers.

DiDomenico’s bill would create a common application portal to let low-income households apply for MassHealth and SNAP at the same time, thereby consolidating the application process and raising awareness of SNAP eligibility. This bill would help more low-income students access free school meals, increasing food access for over 100,000 Massachusetts elders, and help more families meet their basic needs. 

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BOSTON- The Massachusetts Senate recently passed Senator Sal DiDomenico’s bill, An Act relative to healthy youth (S.2459). This bill will ensure that Massachusetts schools electing to provide their students with sex education use age-appropriate and medically accurate curriculum that covers a comprehensive range of topics. The legislation also calls for sex education to be inclusive and appropriate for students regardless of gender, race, disability status, sexual orientation and gender identity.

“I am very proud that the Massachusetts Senate has once again reaffirmed our commitment to this commonsense healthy policy that will ensure our youth have the tools needed to protect their health and form respectful relationships,” said Senator DiDomenico. “This legislation makes it clear that sex education in the Commonwealth must be inclusive for all students and emphasize the importance and necessity of consent. I would like to thank and congratulate the many advocates who have partnered with us on this legislation and worked tirelessly to ensure Massachusetts youth have the information they need to build the bright futures they deserve— without shame or judgement.”

 Currently, when Massachusetts public schools provide their students with health education that covers sexual activity, there is no guarantee that the information provided is age-appropriate or medically accurate. This legislation changes this by requiring school districts that offer sex education to follow certain guidelines to ensure students are provided with age-appropriate, medically accurate, and comprehensive information.

The Senate passed similar versions of the Healthy Youth Act in prior sessions and this most recent version incorporates additional feedback from experts as well as advocates. This legislation does not require schools to offer sex education and also protects parents’ right to remove their children from all or part of sex education if they choose to do so — an action protected by state law. In addition, it provides districts that teach sex education curriculum with updated guidance on how to notify parents about these programs 

Notification to parents and guardians must be in English, as well as any other commonly spoken languages by parents. Districts must also have a process for parents to review the program instruction materials prior to the start of the course, if the parents request it.

Sex education programs have repeatedly been shown to work best when they emphasize the value of delaying sex, while also teaching students about the importance of protecting themselves from unintended consequences. As demonstrated by numerous studies, comprehensive sex education programs have been proven to delay the initiation of sex, increase use of contraception, lower the rates of STIs and unintended pregnancy among teens, and reduce reported levels of bullying towards LGBTQ youth in school.

A 2018 poll conducted by EMC Research showed overwhelming bipartisan support for sex education in Massachusetts, with 92% of likely voters agreeing that students should receive sex education in high school and 89% of likely voters agree that sex education should include comprehensive information, such as how to build healthy relationships and understand consent.

This bill now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.

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