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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Papen

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/5/08

HB

SHORT TITLE Study Duty-Free Lunch Periods

SJM 30

ANALYST Cox

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Public Education Department - PED

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Joint Memorial 30 requests the Public Education Department (PED) with the Legislative

Education Study Committee (LESC) and Office of Education Accountability (OEA) to study the

feasibility of requiring a forty-five minute, duty-free lunch period for all elementary instructional

personnel statewide.

The Joint Memorial notes that the Secretary of Education, in cooperation with the Office of

Education Accountability, report recommendations, including cost estimates, to the Legislative

Education Study Committee and the Legislative Finance Committee by November 2008.

Copies of this memorial should be transmitted to the Secretary of Public Education, the Office of

Education Accountability, the Legislative Education Study Committee and the Legislative

Finance Committee.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

This study can be conducted by the PED, with the LESC and OEA, with existing staff.

Senate Joint Memorial 30 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

PED notes:

•

Law provides that teachers shall not be required to perform non-instructional duties

except in emergency situations as defined by the PED. Non instructional duties are noon

hall duty, noon ground duty and noon cafeteria duty.

•

Most teachers are given 30 minutes for lunch. In elementary schools, a teacher’s lunch

period does not equal 30 minutes of duty-free time based on the need for him to take

students to the lunchroom and pick them up at the end of their lunch period. The result is

that teachers have 15 minutes or less for eating lunch.

•

Research has shown that rapid eating is associated with a number of health concerns and

issues, such as insulin resistance, high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol and acid

reflux.

•

Rapid eating can contribute to chronic stress, which can ultimately create physical

symptoms such as chronic headaches and increased susceptibility to colds and influenza.

•

Being required to eat rapidly and in a stressful situation on a day-to-day basis can

exacerbate the stresses associated with the stressful job of teaching.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

•

Increasing duty-free lunch from 30 to 45 minutes would alter the daily schedule of

schools. The administrative school code may need to be changed. See Section 6.30.2.10.

H. 3.

PRC/mt