SB 708, as amended, Mendoza. Pupil nutrition: free or reduced-price meals: online applications.
(1) Existing law requires each school district and county superintendent of schools maintaining 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 at all times during each regular schoolday. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to supervise the implementation of this program and to investigate acts of alleged noncompliance.
This bill would authorize the governing boards of school districts and county superintendents of schools to also make applications for free or reduced-price meals electronically available online. The bill would specify requirements that would have to be met by the governing boards of school districts and county superintendents of schools, and school food service personnel, who choose to provide access to an online application under this bill.
The bill would require all applications to include clear instructions for families that are homeless or are migrants. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on local educational agencies, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(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:
It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
2legislation to improve access to children from refugee and
3immigrant households to child nutrition programs.
Section 49557 of the Education Code is amended to
5read:
(a) (1) The governing board of a school district and
7the county superintendent of schools shall make paper applications
8for free or reduced-price meals available to pupils at all times
9during each regular schoolday, and may also make an application
10electronically available online, provided that the online application
11complies with paragraph (3). Pursuant to federal and state
12guidelines, the application shall contain clear instructions for
13families that are homeless or are migrants, and shall also contain,
14in at least 8-point boldface type, each of the following statements:
15(A) Applications for free and reduced-price meals may be
16submitted
at any time during a schoolday.
17(B) Children participating in the federal National School Lunch
18Program will not be overtly identified by the use of special tokens,
19special tickets, special serving lines, separate entrances, separate
20dining areas, or by any other means.
P3 1(2) A school district and the county superintendent of schools
2shall use all other paper applications it has for free or reduced-price
3meals before utilizing the applications pursuant to this subdivision.
4(3) If the governing board of a school district or a county office
5of
education chooses, or school food service personnel choose, to
6provide access to an online application for free or reduced-price
7meals pursuant to paragraph (1), the online application shall comply
8with all of the following requirements:
9(A) Include a link to the Internet Web site on which translated
10applications are posted by the United States Department of
11Agriculture, with instructions in that language that inform the
12applicant how to submit the application. The Legislature finds and
13declares that federal guidelines require school food authorities to
14accept and process these applications if they are submitted to the
15school food authority.
16(B) Require completion of only those questions that are
17necessary for determining eligibility.
18(C) Include clear instructions for families that are homeless or
19are migrants.
20(D) Comply with the privacy rights and disclosure protections
21established by the federal Richard B. Russell National School
22Lunch Act (Public Law 113-79) and the federal Children’s Online
23Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-277).
24(E) Include links to all of the following:
25(i) The online application to CalFresh.
26(ii) The online single state application for health care.
27(iii) The Internet Webbegin delete siteend deletebegin insert
pageend insert maintained by the State
28Department of Public Healthbegin delete providing ZIP-Code-specific referralsend delete
29begin insert entitled “About WIC and How to Apply,” or another Internet Web
30page identified by the State Department of Public Health that
31connects familiesend insert to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program
32for Women, Infants and Children.
33(iv) The Internet Web site of a summer lunch program
34authorized to participate within the city or school district.
35(F) No online application for free or reduced-price meals shall
36be made available online or made accessible online by a school
37district, county office of
education, or school food service
38personnel if the online application allows for the information
39provided by an applicant to be used by a private entity for any
40purpose not related to the administration of a school food program,
P4 1or if the online application requires an applicant to waive any right
2or to create a user account in order to submit the application.
3(b) The governing board of each school district and each county
4superintendent of schools shall formulate a plan, which shall be
5mailed to the State Department of Education for its approval, that
6will ensure that children eligible to receive free or reduced-price
7meals and milk shall not be treated differently from other children.
8These plans shall ensure each of the following:
9(1) Unless otherwise specified, the names of the
children shall
10not be published, posted, or announced in any manner, or used for
11any other purpose other than the federal National School Lunch
12Program.
13(2) There shall be no overt identification of any of the children
14by the use of special tokens or tickets or by any other means.
15(3) The children shall not be required to work for their meals
16or milk.
17(4) The children shall not be required to use a separate dining
18area, go through a separate serving line, enter the dining area
19through a separate entrance, or consume their meals or milk at a
20
different time.
21(c) When more than one lunch or breakfast or type of milk is
22offered pursuant to this article, the children shall have the same
23choice of meals or milk that is available to those children who pay
24the full price for their meal or milk.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
26this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
27local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
28pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
294 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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