BILL NUMBER: AB 402	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER  504
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  OCTOBER 6, 2011
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  OCTOBER 5, 2011
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 22, 2011
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 25, 2011
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 17, 2011
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 30, 2011
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 27, 2011
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 26, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Skinner
   (Coauthor: Senator Hancock)

                        FEBRUARY 14, 2011

   An act to amend Section 49558 of, and to add Section 49557.3 to,
the Education Code, and to add Section 18901.55 to the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to the CalFresh program.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 402, Skinner. CalFresh program: School Lunch Program:
information.
   Existing law requires each school district or county
superintendent of schools maintaining any kindergarten or any of
grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to provide for each needy pupil one
nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each
schoolday. Existing law requires the governing board of a school
district and the county superintendent of schools to make
applications for free or reduced-price meals available to pupils.
   This bill would authorize a school district or county office of
education to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the local
agency that determines CalFresh program eligibility, or its designee,
to share information provided on the School Lunch Program
application to determine an applicant's CalFresh program eligibility,
as specified. The bill would provide that the School Lunch Program
application is confidential and would prohibit the information used
in the application from being disclosed to any governmental agency,
including the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service and the
Social Security Administration, or used for any purpose other than
enrollment in the CalFresh program.
   This bill would also require a county that has entered into a
memorandum of understanding to determine CalFresh program eligibility
for children from the information provided on a School Lunch Program
application shared with the county pursuant to the provisions
discussed above, and, if the child is eligible, to enroll the child
in the CalFresh program, upon receipt of a signed CalFresh program
application. The bill would also require each county to request that
the parent or guardian of each child who it determines meets the
eligibility requirements for participation in the CalFresh program to
provide additional documentation necessary for retention of
eligibility in the CalFresh program.



THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 49557.3 is added to the Education Code, to
read:
   49557.3.  (a) Each school district or county office of education,
at its option, may enter into a memorandum of understanding with the
local agency that determines CalFresh program eligibility, or its
designee, to share information provided on the School Lunch Program
application with that agency, if the child is approved for free meals
or, if included in the memorandum of understanding, reduced-price
meals, and if the applicant consents to the sharing of that
information. The information may be shared electronically,
physically, or through whatever method is determined appropriate. Any
memorandum of understanding entered into pursuant to this section
shall set forth the roles and responsibilities of the school district
or county office of education and the local agency, and the process
to be used in sharing the information.
   (b) The local agency that determines CalFresh program eligibility
shall use information provided on a School Lunch Program application
only for purposes directly related to the enrollment of families in
the CalFresh program.
   (c) The School Lunch Program application is confidential, and,
with the exception of forwarding the information on the application
for use in CalFresh program enrollment consistent with Chapter 10
(commencing with Section 18900) of Part 6 of Division 9 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code upon the consent of the pupil's parent
or guardian, the school district, county superintendent of schools,
or CalFresh program administrators shall not share the information
with any other governmental agency, including the federal Immigration
and Naturalization Service and the Social Security Administration,
or use the information for any purpose other than enrollment in the
CalFresh program.
   (d) After a school district or county office of education shares
information provided on a School Lunch Program application with the
local agency that determines CalFresh program eligibility, or its
designee, for the purpose of determining the applicant's eligibility
for the CalFresh program, the school district or county office of
education and the local agency, or its designee, shall not share
information about the applicant or his or her household with each
other, or any other entity, unless specifically authorized to do so
pursuant to other provisions of law.
  SEC. 2.  Section 49558 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   49558.  (a) All applications and records concerning any individual
made or kept by any public officer or agency in connection with the
administration of any provision of this code relating to free or
reduced-price meal eligibility shall be confidential, and may not be
open to examination for any purpose not directly connected with the
administration of any free or reduced-price meal program, or any
investigation, prosecution, or criminal or civil proceeding conducted
in connection with the administration of any free or reduced-price
meal program.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a public officer or agency
may allow the use by school district employees, who are authorized by
the governing board of the school district, of individual records
pertaining to pupil participation in any free or reduced-price meal
program solely for the purpose of disaggregation of academic
achievement data or to identify pupils eligible for public school
choice and supplemental educational services pursuant to the federal
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110), if the public agency
ensures the following:
   (1) The public agency has adopted a policy that allows for the use
of individual records for these purposes.
   (2) No individual indicators of participation in any free or
reduced-price meal program are maintained in the permanent record of
any pupil, unless otherwise allowed by law.
   (3) No public release of information regarding individual pupil
participation in any free or reduced-price meal program is permitted.

   (4) All other confidentiality provisions required by law are met.
   (5) The information collected regarding individual pupils
certified to participate in the free or reduced-price meal program is
destroyed when it is no longer needed for its intended purpose.
   (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the school districts and
county superintendents of schools may release information on the
School Lunch Program application to the local agency that determines
eligibility under the Medi-Cal program if the child is approved for
free meals and if the applicant consents to the sharing of
information pursuant to Section 49557.2.
   (d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the school districts and
county superintendents of schools may release information on the
School Lunch Program application to the local agency that determines
eligibility under the CalFresh program or to an agency that
determines eligibility for nutrition assistance programs authorized
by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 210.1) of Subtitle B of Title 7
of the Code of Federal Regulations, if the child is approved for
free or reduced-price meals and if the applicant consents to the
sharing of information pursuant to Section 49557.3.
  SEC. 3.  Section 18901.55 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   18901.55.  (a) If a county has entered into a memorandum of
understanding pursuant to Section 49557.3 of the Education Code, the
county shall use the procedure described in this section to determine
CalFresh program eligibility for children whose information is
shared with the county pursuant to Section 49557.3 of the Education
Code, and, if the child is eligible, the county to enroll the child
in the CalFresh program, upon receipt of a signed CalFresh program
application.
   (b) Upon receipt of information on the School Lunch Program
application pursuant to this section for a pupil who is not already
enrolled in the CalFresh program, the county shall treat the
application as an application for the CalFresh program. For purposes
of administration of the CalFresh program, the application date shall
be the date that the application is received by the county human
services department. If the county determines that the pupil is
already enrolled in the CalFresh program, it shall not take any
further action. Unless otherwise prohibited by federal law or
regulation, for purposes of expedited service processing, a county
shall request information necessary for processing an application at
the first point of contact following receipt of information. If
information is provided to determine whether the household meets the
criteria for expedited service, the expedited timeframe processing
timeframes shall apply from the point of first contact. For the
processing of other households, the processing timeframes shall apply
from the point at which the county has received sufficient
information in order to process the application.
   (c) If the county determines from information on the School Lunch
Program application and supporting documents that the child or his or
her family meets the income eligibility requirements for
participation in the CalFresh program, the county shall notify the
parent or guardian of the child that the child or his or her family
has been found eligible for the CalFresh program.
   (d) If the county is unable to determine from the information on
the application whether the child or his or her family is eligible
for the CalFresh program, the county shall contact the parent or
guardian of the child to seek any additional information regarding
income, household composition, or deductions that the county may
determine to be necessary to complete the CalFresh program
application. If the county determines that the child or his or her
family does not meet the eligibility requirements for participation
in the CalFresh program, the county shall notify the parent or
guardian of the child of the determination.
   (e) Each county shall request the parent or guardian of each child
whom the county determines meets the eligibility requirements for
participation in the CalFresh program under subdivision (c) to
provide additional documentation as required by current law necessary
for retention of eligibility in the CalFresh program.
   (f) If a parent or guardian of a child does not provide the
documentation required for retention of CalFresh program eligibility,
as requested pursuant to subdivision (e), the county shall deny or
discontinue CalFresh program benefits in accordance with existing
regulations and laws.