(KXNET) — This week, North Dakota lawmakers rejected a proposal to help provide school lunches to students from low-income families.

On Tuesday, state senators opted ‘not’ to bring House Bill 1491 back to the floor for any lawmakers to change their votes.

The bill was written by representative LaurieBeth Hager from Fargo and was seeking to provide around $6 million to the superintendent of public instruction for school grants.

That money would pay for free meals for kids who are below 200% of the federal poverty level.

“All the kids who are behind this, the teachers, and all of the people who’ve been there all the way through this. I thank them. I thank them for what they’re doing one on one. The letters they’ve written and the different ways they’ve been a part of it. And this is truly remarkable, the support that we have for this,” Hager said.

That money would have paid for free meals for kids who are below 200% of the federal poverty level.