The Colorado legislature passed House Bill 22-1414 to send the creation of a Healthy School Meals for All program to voters on the November 2022 ballot. The Healthy School Meals for All program would provide funding opportunities to Colorado public school food authorities that participate in the federal National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program. If passed, the bill will:

• Reimburse school food authorities that choose to participate in the program for free meals provided to students who are not eligible for free or reduced-price meals under the federal school meals programs.
• Provide funding to school food authorities to purchase nutritious, fresh food from Colorado farmers and ranchers.
• Provide school food authorities with additional funding to increase wages or provide stipends to staff who prepare and serve the meals.
• Establish student and parent advisory committees.
• Have grants available to provide training and equipment to school food authorities.

View this Healthy School Meals for All FAQ sheet for more information.

The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer spring corrections and summer data collection will close on Thursday, Sept. 29. Districts with any students who fall into the following categories should plan to submit during this collection:

• Corrections from spring 2022.
• Students omitted from spring 2022.
• Students found newly eligible for free or reduced-price school meals up to June 30 who need to be assessed for spring 2022 benefits.
• Students found newly eligible for free or reduced-price school meals between July 1 and Aug. 26 or any other student who has not been previously submitted and needs to be assessed for summer 2022 benefits.

Visit the P-EBT data collection webpage for resources, including file layout requirements and recorded training.

Water ’22, a statewide, year-long initiative that implores Coloradans to take an active role in securing the state’s water future, is encouraging all Colorado students, grades K-12 and ages 5-19, to create a work that reflects a place, thing or activity they love connected to water that is within their local watershed or river basin.

Students can enter in various categories such as creative writing, photography or video, digital art, music and performance, sculpture or fashion. Four students across all categories will receive cash awards ranging from $250-$2,000 based upon their demonstration of passion and creativity as awarded by the judges. Teachers who assist students will be entered into a drawing to win one of two $250 cash prizes.

For more details and to enter, visit the Water '22 webpage.