Legislation prohibiting public institutions of higher education from requiring students to purchase meal plans died this week in the House Education Administration and Planning Subcommittee. The financial impact of the bill, which will likely be studied over the summer, would have been in the millions of dollars for Tennessee’s public universities, many of whom use revenue from these meal plans to fund dining facilities on campus that benefit all students but are not taxpayer funded.
Although an amendment was offered on the bill to narrow its scope, lawmakers on the Subcommittee had reservations about micromanaging the business models and contractual obligations of Tennessee’s public universities. UT, along with public universities across the state, opposed the legislation.
Tags: financial impact, Higher Education, meal plans, students