BILL NUMBER: AB 1594	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Eng
   (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Alejo)

                        FEBRUARY 6, 2012

   An act to add Section 47610.1 to the Education Code, relating to
charter schools.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1594, as introduced, Eng. Charter schools: pupil nutrition.
   (1) 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 and authorizes them to use funds made available through any
federal or state program the purpose of which includes the provision
of meals to a pupil, including the federal School Breakfast Program,
the federal National School Lunch Program, the federal Summer Food
Service Program, the federal Seamless Summer Option, or the state
meal program, or to provide those meals at the expense of the school
district or county office of education.
   Existing law exempts charter schools from the laws governing
school districts except those of the Charter Schools Act, those
establishing minimum age for public school attendance, specified
building code regulations, and other specified laws.
   This bill would require a charter school to provide each needy
pupil with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal
during each schoolday, thereby imposing a state-mandated local
program. The bill would exclude a charter school that offers only
nonclassroom-based instruction from this requirement.
   (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


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

  SECTION 1.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) Many California families struggle to make ends meet; limited
financial resources can make it difficult for families, including
children, to access nutritious food.
   (2) Currently, California charter schools are exempt from the
requirement that they provide a low-income pupil a daily
nutritionally adequate, free or reduced-price school meal.
   (3) As the number of charter schools continues to grow across
California, so do the number of low-income charter school pupils who
may not have access to the free or reduced-price meals that they are
eligible for and offered in a traditional public school.
   (4) School meals play an essential role in supporting the academic
achievement and overall well-being of all pupils, particularly
low-income pupils who may not have access to a nutritionally adequate
meal otherwise.
   (b) Because a hungry child cannot learn, the Legislature intends
that all California public schools, including charter schools,
provide for each needy pupil one nutritionally adequate free or
reduced-price meal during each school day.
  SEC. 2.  Section 47610.1 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   47610.1.  (a) A charter school shall provide each needy pupil with
one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal, as defined in
subdivision (a) of Section 49553, during each schoolday.
   (b) This section does not apply to a charter school that offers
only nonclassroom-based instruction.
  SEC. 3.  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.