North Dakota ballot measure · November 3, 2026
North Dakota Initiated Constitutional Measure No. 2, explained
Free school breakfast and lunch for all students. A ballot measure is a yes-or-no question put directly to voters — no candidate is involved, and the wording on the ballot is the wording that becomes law. This page shows that wording first, then what it actually changes.
The official wordingWhat appears on the ballot. Everything below explains it.
Initiated Constitutional Measure No. 2 This initiated measure amendment would amend and add a new section to article VIII of the North Dakota Constitution. It would mandate all public school districts, public schools, and public charter schools to provide one breakfast and one lunch each school day to enrolled students at no cost to the student, parent, or guardians. It would allow nonpublic schools, Bureau of Indian Education schools, and other tribal schools the option to provide the same. It would require the State of North Dakota to reimburse school districts and schools at one hundred percent of the current rates used by the state for free meals, and the rate shall be adjusted annually for inflation. It would require the legislative assembly to identify a source of funds for reimbursement and if a source of funds is unable to be identified, reimbursement funds would be appropriated from the legacy earnings fund. This amendment would supersede any other part of the constitution that conflicts with it. The estimated fiscal impact of this measure is a $124.3 million to $134.3 million increase in ongoing biennial expenditures for the 2027–2029 biennium and will be adjusted for inflation every year after that. Yes – Means you approve the measure as summarized above. No – Means you reject the measure as summarized above.
What it actually means
Today a North Dakota student eats free at school if the household income is low enough — under federal rules, and under a wider state programme reaching households up to 225% of the poverty line. Everyone else pays. This measure would put free breakfast and lunch for every public school student into the state constitution, with the state reimbursing schools for what federal programmes do not cover. Because it would be in the constitution, the Legislative Assembly could not scale it back, and if lawmakers found no other money the spending would come automatically out of the Legacy Earnings Fund — the earnings of the state's oil and gas trust.
If you vote YES
- Every public school district, public school and public charter school would have to serve one breakfast and one lunch each school day at no cost to any enrolled student, starting with the 2027-28 school year.
- Nonpublic schools, Bureau of Indian Education schools and other tribal schools could opt in on the same reimbursement terms.
- The state would reimburse schools at 100% of the free-meal rates in use at the start of the 2025-26 school year, adjusted annually for inflation on the USDA's methodology, minus any federal reimbursement received. Schools would first have to maximise federal funding to qualify.
- The Department of Public Instruction estimates the cost at $124 million to $134 million per two-year budget cycle, plus $300,000 a year in administration, rising with inflation.
- If the Legislative Assembly identified no other funding source, the money would be appropriated from the Legacy Earnings Fund automatically — the requirement is written as mandatory and self-executing, and laws could be passed to "facilitate, safeguard, expand, or implement" it but "not to hamper, restrict, or impair it."
- It would not apply to colleges and universities.
If you vote NO
- School meals stay funded as they are now, through the federal National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program plus North Dakota's own expanded eligibility.
- Students in households at or below 130% of the federal poverty level continue to eat free, those at or below 185% pay a reduced price, and North Dakota's state programme extends free and reduced-price meals to households at or below 225% of the poverty level. Families above those lines keep paying full price.
- The Legislative Assembly keeps control of school meal funding and can expand, narrow or leave it alone in each budget, as it does now.
- No mandatory claim on the Legacy Earnings Fund is created, and the estimated $124–134 million per biennium is not committed.
The numbers that matter
- Estimated cost
- $124.3 million to $134.3 million per biennium
- Administrative cost
- $300,000 for the 2027-29 biennium
- Current free-meal eligibility
- Household income at or below 130% of the federal poverty level, and up to 225% under North Dakota's expanded programme
- First school year affected
- 2027-28
North Dakota Legislative Council estimate for 2027-29, printed on the ballot; adjusted for inflation thereafter
Department of Public Instruction estimate in the Legislative Council fiscal impact report
Federal National School Lunch Program rules and North Dakota's state expansion
North Dakota Legislative Council fiscal impact report, July 2026
What each side says3 for, 2 against — quoted, not summarised
Why supporters say YES
"Providing school meals at no cost is one of the most effective, research-backed ways to strengthen academic performance, reduce stress on families, and give every child a fair shot."
— Robin Nelson, chair, Together for School Meals
"School meals have been proven to support children's health, reduce hunger, and improve academic outcomes. Participation in school meal programs is associated with better nutrition, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, and a reduction in food insecurity. These benefits extend beyond the classroom, lifting families above the poverty line and setting students up for lifelong success."
— Together for School Meals, the sponsoring committee
"This measure is about more than just meals; it's about giving every child an equal opportunity to succeed while easing the financial burden on families. Parents will save nearly $1,000 per student per year."
— Amy Jacobson, executive director, Prairie Action Institute
Why opponents say NO
"No matter what happens in the future of North Dakota's budget, you could have $7 soybeans, you could have $12 oil, and this money comes off before anything else is spent. I don't like constitutional mandated spending at all. … I think school lunches is a very important debate. I think there is a reason people have brought it and I think it's a worthy conversation to have. I do not think it is the most important $140 million under any circumstance that North Dakota would spend."
— Gov. Kelly Armstrong (R)
"Really know what you're voting on. You're voting on burdening yourself with taxes."
— State Sen. Janne Myrdal (R-19)
What's genuinely uncertain
- Where the money would come from is not settled. The measure tells the Legislative Assembly to find a source and falls back on the Legacy Earnings Fund only if it cannot; which of those happens is a decision for the 2027 session.
- The Department of Public Instruction's $124–134 million range depends on how many students take up meals that are newly free, which cannot be known in advance.
- Federal reimbursement rates and eligibility rules can change, and the state's share is calculated net of whatever the federal programmes pay — so the state cost moves with federal policy.
- No committee had registered to oppose the measure as of September 2026, and neither side had reported contributions in the campaign finance filings covering through September 21, so the arguments against come from individual officeholders rather than an organised campaign.
- Gov. Armstrong's "$140 million" figure is his own; the Legislative Council's official estimate is $124.3 million to $134.3 million per biennium.
The bottom line
Whether free breakfast and lunch for every public school student is worth roughly $130 million a biennium and, because it would sit in the constitution, a first claim on the budget that lawmakers could not later trim.
One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.
Sources (4)The numbers in the text above link here
- 1Official Ballot Language for Measures Appearing on the Ballot, November 3, 2026 — North Dakota Secretary of State — sos.nd.gov
- 2Report of the North Dakota Legislative Council on the estimated fiscal impact of the school meals measure, July 2026 — sos.nd.gov
- 3Full text of the initiated school lunches measure — North Dakota Secretary of State — sos.nd.gov
- 4North Dakota Constitutional Measure 2, Require Schools to Provide Free Meals to Students Initiative (2026) — Ballotpedia — ballotpedia.org
Checking it against the official text
The North Dakota Secretary of State publishes the certified measures and, in most states, an official voter guide with fiscal notes. That is the authoritative version. Everything here is an explanation of it, not a substitute for it.
Confirm this with the official source
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at North Dakota Secretary of State.