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 schoolbegin delete districts and county superintendents of schools,end deletebegin insert districts, county offices of education,end insert and school foodbegin delete service personnel,end deletebegin insert authoritiesend insert 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) Ifbegin delete theend deletebegin insert aend insert governing board of a schoolbegin delete district or aend deletebegin insert
district, aend insert
5 county office ofbegin delete education chooses, orend deletebegin insert education, or aend insert school food
6begin delete service personnel choose,end deletebegin insert authority choosesend insert to provide access to
7an online application for free or reduced-price meals pursuant to
8paragraph (1), the online application shall comply with all of the
9following requirements:
10(A) Include a link to the Internet Web site on which translated
11applications are posted by the United States Department of
12Agriculture, with instructions in that language that
inform the
13applicant how to submit the application. The Legislature finds and
14declares that federal guidelines require school food authorities to
15accept and process these applications if they are submitted to the
16school food authority.
17(B) Require completion of only those questions that are
18necessary for determining eligibility.
19(C) Include clear instructions for families that are homeless or
20are migrants.
21(D) Comply with the privacy rights and disclosure protections
22established by the federal Richard B. Russell National School
23Lunch Act (Public Law 113-79) and the federal Children’s Online
24Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-277).
25(E) Include links to all of the following:
26(i) The online application to CalFresh.
27(ii) The online single state application for health care.
28(iii) The Internet Web page maintained by the State Department
29of Public Health entitled “About WIC and How to Apply,” or
30another Internet Web page identified by the State Department of
31Public Health that connects families to the Special Supplemental
32Nutrition Program for 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,begin insert aend insert county office of education, orbegin insert aend insert school foodbegin delete service begin insert authorityend insert if the online application allows for the
38personnelend delete
39information provided by an applicant to be used by a private entity
40for any purpose not related to the administration of a school food
P4 1program, or if the online application requires an applicant to waive
2any right or to create a user account in order to submit the
3application.
4(b) The governing board of each school district and each county
5superintendent of schools shall formulate a plan, which shall be
6mailed to the State Department of Education for its approval, that
7will ensure that children eligible to receive free or reduced-price
8meals and milk shall not be treated differently from other children.
9These plans shall ensure each of the following:
10(1) Unless otherwise specified, the names of the children shall
11not be published, posted, or announced in any manner, or used for
12anybegin delete otherend delete purpose other than the federal National School Lunch
13Program.
14(2) There shall be no overt identification of any of the children
15by the use of special tokens or tickets or by any other
means.
16(3) The children shall not be required to work for their meals
17or milk.
18(4) The children shall not be required to use a separate dining
19area, go through a separate serving line, enter the dining area
20through a separate entrance, or consume their meals or milk at a
21
different time.
22(c) When more than one lunch or breakfast or type of milk is
23offered pursuant to this article, the children shall have the same
24choice of meals or milk that is available to those children who pay
25the full price for their meal or milk.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
27this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
28local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
29pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
304 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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