A Texas Democratic lawmaker has reintroduced legislation requiring public schools to provide halal meal options upon request, proposing a statewide mandate and a narrower version covering large counties and their neighbors, including parts of North Texas.
State Rep. Suleman Lalani (D-District 76) filed House Bills 401 and 426 on November 9 ahead of the 2027 legislative session. The bills follow an October investigation by The Dallas Express into halal-certified chicken served in Wylie ISD cafeterias and questions about what families were told.
What The Two Bills Would Require
Under HB401, school districts and open-enrollment charter schools statewide would have to provide a halal option in any breakfast or lunch program when a student, parent, or person standing in parental relation to the student requests one.
HB426 would impose the same requirement only on districts and charter schools wholly or partly located in a county with at least 2.1 million residents or a county adjacent to one. The wording could include districts whose boundaries extend beyond a qualifying county.
Both proposals state that a school “shall provide a halal option” following a qualifying request.
The bills refer to the definition of halal in Section 17.881 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code: food prepared and served in accordance with Islamic religious requirements recognized by an Islamic authority.
No Dedicated Funding Or General Parent-Notification Requirement
Neither bill contains a dedicated appropriation, a reimbursement mechanism, or an estimate of additional costs to school districts.
Neither bill requires schools to notify every parent when cafeteria food is halal-certified or creates an express right to request a nonhalal alternative.
Wylie ISD Previously Discontinued Halal-Certified Chicken
The Dallas Express reported in October that Wylie ISD had served halal-certified chicken patties at elementary, intermediate, and junior high campuses. The district said the product came through the U.S. Department of Agriculture purchasing system and was not chosen for its religious certification.
The district said other entrées were available. It discontinued the patties in April 2026 following feedback from families and taxpayers, returning to a conventional chicken patty.
In the same report, a Hays CISD nutrition official acknowledged during an April 20 board workshop that some products the district served were halal without staff initially recognizing it.
“A lot of the products that we actually serve are halal. We just, we didn’t know,” the official said, according to the workshop recording.
The district did not identify those products in the cited discussion.
A Third Attempt To Pass Similar Legislation
Lalani introduced similar bills during the 2023 and 2025 legislative sessions. His 2025 proposals, HB625 and HB667, included statewide and geographically limited approaches, respectively. Neither became law.
The newly filed bills would apply beginning in the 2027-2028 school year if enacted. Each provides for immediate effectiveness with a two-thirds vote of elected members of each chamber, or September 1, 2027, without that vote.
Separate Proposal Would Recognize Muslim Heritage Day
Lalani also filed House Bill 236 to designate February 4 as Muslim Heritage Day and House Resolution 16 concerning Ramadan in 2027.
The 90th Texas Legislature is scheduled to convene January 12, 2027. None of the new halal-meal bills has become law. Whether legislators will adopt a meal accommodation mandate, address costs, or add cafeteria disclosure rules remains to be decided.
Provided by Dallas Express
