Lawmakers gave initial approval Wednesday to a bill that would extend Maine’s free school lunch program to all public pre-kindergarten students, although questions remain about whether it will be funded.

Maine has offered universal school meals since 2021, which means all public school students have access to free breakfast, lunch and snack every day. That benefit also applies to pre-K students who attend programs housed within public school buildings but doesn’t extend to programs that are off-site partners of public school districts, which also serve public students.

Legislation sponsored by Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, which she has called the APPLE Act, seeks to close that loophole.

“When policy gaps remain, even our strongest programs can struggle to reach their full potential, particularly for our youngest learners who require the most support,” she said while introducing the measure this month.

LD 2064 proposes a grant program that would provide up to $1,200 per student, and an additional grant of up to $10,000 for infrastructure improvements related to providing meals.

Lawmakers on the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee tabled the bill after an initial work session this month and asked for small revisions and information from legislative analysts and the state education department. On Wednesday, some committee members further debated the costs of the program and its implications for the ongoing transition of special education responsibility for 3- and 4-year-olds from a state agency to local school districts.

But they passed an amended version of the bill by a 6-4 vote, with Republicans united in opposition. It now goes to the House and Senate, although even if it passes there, lawmakers would need to find a way to pay for it.

Daughtry told committee members the cost associated with her bill is likely substantial and acknowledged funding it could be challenging. Although it does not yet have a formal fiscal note, a staff member with the Department of Education estimated the cost of the grant program would be about $480,000 annually, and the cost of salary and benefits for two positions created by the bill would be $236,000.

“But I would argue one of the inequities I saw is we’ve already invested substantially into our universal school meals program, and this ensures that it’s being delivered, regardless of where that pre-K program is,” Daughtry said at the public hearing.

The bill is one of several introduced this session by Daughtry following a statewide child care listening tour last summer during which she visited 11 facilities around the state to learn about industry challenges from the people who work in and rely on it. She said meal access at off-site public pre-K programs came up consistently, and one facility in her district reported losing $15,000 annually to provide meals.

There are about 350 children who currently attend public off-site pre-K programs across 13 school districts, although those numbers are expected to grow.

The bill received universal support in submitted written testimony and during a Feb. 5 public hearing. District leaders, school nutrition directors and nonprofit leaders said the current structure is costly for public partners, and introduces inequities across the state’s public pre-K system.

Christine Frost-Bertinet, assistant superintendent of Regional School Unit 14, which includes Windham and Raymond, said there’s an unjust two-tiered system with school districts.

“Young children attending public pre-K programs, taught by equally qualified and certified teachers, receive vastly different support simply based on their classroom location,” she said. “For families already navigating food insecurity, this gap can be devastating.”