New Jersey legislation · 2026-2027 Regular Session
New Jersey A5736: School districts-provide 30-minute lunch period to students
Status: In committee, October 29, 2026
Requires school districts to provide 30-minute lunch period for students.
What the bill says
An Act concerning lunch periods for students and supplementing chapter 33 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
From the introduced text, October 29, 2026:
An Act concerning lunch periods for students and supplementing chapter 33 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes. Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey: 1. The Legislature finds and declares that: a. Health experts recommend at least 20 minutes of seated eating time for student lunch periods. b. The body takes 20 minutes to register fullness, and students with an abbreviated lunch period are more likely to overeat or undereat as a result. c. A study of secondary school students found that shorter lunch periods were associated with significantly lower odds of eating fruits and vegetables daily and higher odds of eating unhealthy food daily. d. When factoring in lunch-line wait times and class period transitions, a 30-minute lunch period provides the additional time necessary to ensure each student has an adequate amount of time to eat lunch. e. It is altogether fitting and proper for the Legislature to mandate a 30-minute lunch period for all school districts so that students can be well-nourished, achieve better academic results, experience fewer absences, and display improved physical and mental well-being. 2. a. Beginning with the first full school year following the date of enactment of this act, a school district shall provide on each full school day a lunch period of at …
Sponsors
- Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D, 15) · primary sponsor
Latest actions
- : INT 1RA REF AED
Subjects: EDUCATION - SCHOOL BOARDS AND DISTRICTS
Common questions
- What is A5736?
- A5736 is a bill in the New Jersey Legislature (2026-2027 Regular Session): School districts-provide 30-minute lunch period to students.
- What does A5736 do?
- In its own words: An Act concerning lunch periods for students and supplementing chapter 33 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
- What is the status of A5736?
- In committee as of October 29, 2026. Latest action: INT 1RA REF AED (October 29, 2026).
- Who sponsored A5736?
- Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D, 15).
- Where is the official record for A5736?
- On the New Jersey Legislature website: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2026/A5736
Source: official New Jersey record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.