BILL NUMBER: SB 1369	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 10, 2008
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 27, 2008

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Cedillo

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2008

   An act to amend Section 49557.2 of the Education Code, relating to
pupil nutrition.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1369, as amended, Cedillo. Pupil nutrition: free and reduced
price meals: application.
   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. A school district and county superintendent of
schools may incorporate information about the Medi-Cal and Healthy
Families programs in the application. Parents may consent to allow
the school district or county superintendent of schools to share
information from the school lunch program application with the county
agency administering the Medi-Cal program for use in making an
accelerated Medi-Cal eligibility determination.
   This bill would prohibit a school district from sharing the
information on the school lunch program application if the school
district possesses data that indicates that the child already has an
active Medi-Cal or Healthy Families case.  The bill would
require the parent or guardian to be given the opportunity to refute
this finding and, if   The school would be required to
notify the parent or guardian of the finding of the district that the
child already has Medi-Cal and further, to notify him or her that if
the child has not received a Medi-Cal Beneficiary Identification
Card or does not know how to use their Medi-Cal services, he or she
should call the county for assistance. If  it is verified that
the child does not have an active Medi-Cal or Healthy Families case,
the school district would have the option of not processing the
application for an accelerated Medi-Cal determination and forwarding
it to the entity designated by the State Department of Health Care
Services to make an accelerated determination and to the local agency
that determines eligibility under the Medi-Cal program. The request
for the consent of the parent or guardian to share the information on
the school lunch program application would be required to include a
notification that if the school district determines the child already
has an active Medi-Cal or Healthy Families case, the information on
the application will not be shared and the applicant will 
have an opportunity to refute the determination of the school
district   be told that they already have Medi-Cal or
Healthy Families and what to do if they do not have a Medi-Cal or
Healthy Families card or do not know how to get care  .
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 49557.2 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
   49557.2.  (a) (1) At the option of the school district or county
superintendent of schools, and to the extent necessary to implement
Section 14005.41 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the following
information may be incorporated into the School Lunch Program
application packet or notification of eligibility for the School
Lunch Program using simple and culturally appropriate language:
   (A) A notification that if a child qualifies for free school
lunches, then the child may qualify for free or reduced-cost health
coverage.
   (B) A request for the consent of the applicant for the child to
participate in the Medi-Cal program, if eligible for free school
lunches, and to have the information on the school lunch application
shared with the entity designated by the State Department of Health
Care Services to make an accelerated determination and the local
agency that determines eligibility under the Medi-Cal program and
notification that if the school district possesses data that
indicates that the child already has an active Medi-Cal or Healthy
Families case, the information on the school lunch application will
not be shared and the applicant  will have an opportunity to
refute the determination of the school district.   will
be told that they already have Medi-Cal or Healthy Families. The
notice will tell the family what to do if they do not have a Medi-Cal
or Healthy Families card or do not know how to get care. 
   (C) A notification that the school district will not forward the
school lunch application to the entity designated by the State
Department of Health Care Services to make an accelerated
determination and the local agency that determines eligibility under
the Medi-Cal program, without the consent of the parent or guardian
of the child.
   (D) A notification that the school lunch application is
confidential and, with the exception of forwarding the information
for use in health program enrollment upon the consent of the parent
or guardian of the child, the school district will not share the
information with another governmental agency, including the federal
Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security
Administration.
   (E) A notification that the school lunch application information
will be used only by the entity designated by the State Department of
Health Care Services to make an accelerated determination and the
state and local agencies that administer the Medi-Cal program for
purposes directly related to the administration of the program and
will not be shared with other government agencies, including the
Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security
Administration for any purpose other than the administration of the
Medi-Cal program.
   (F) Information regarding the Medi-Cal program, including
available services, program requirements, rights and
responsibilities, and privacy and confidentiality requirements.
   (2) The State Department of Education, in consultation with school
districts, county superintendents of schools, consumer advocates,
counties, the State Department of Health Care Services, and other
stakeholders, shall make recommendations regarding the School Lunch
Program application, on or before February 1, 2003. The
recommendations shall include specific changes to the School Lunch
Program application materials as necessary to implement Section
14005.41 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information for staff
as to how to implement the changes, and a description of the process
by which information on the School Lunch Program application will be
shared with the county, as the local agency that determines
eligibility under the Medi-Cal program.
   (3) At the option of the school, the request for consent in
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) may be modified so that the parent
or guardian also can consent to allowing Medi-Cal to inform the
school as provided in subdivision (n) of Section 14005.41 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code when followup is needed in order to
complete the Medi-Cal application process.
   (b) (1) School districts and county superintendents of schools may
implement a process to share information provided on the School
Lunch Program application with the entity designated by the State
Department of Health Care Services to make an accelerated
determination and with the local agency that determines eligibility
under the Medi-Cal program, and shall share this information with
those entities, if the applicant consents to that sharing of
information. Schools may designate, only as necessary to implement
this section, nonfood service staff to assist in the administration
of free, reduced price, or paid school lunch applications that have
applicant consent, but only if that designation does not displace or
have an adverse effect on food service staff. This information may be
shared electronically, physically, or through whatever method is
determined appropriate.
   (2) When a school district possesses data that indicates that a
child for whom a National School Lunch Program application has been
submitted, and for whom the parent or guardian has consented to share
the information provided on the application, already has an active
Medi-Cal or Healthy Families case, the school district shall have the
option of not processing the application for an accelerated
determination and forwarding it to the entity designated by the State
Department of Health Care Services to make an accelerated
determination or the local agency that determines eligibility under
the Medi-Cal program pursuant to Section 14005.41 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code. The school  shall notify the parent or
guardian of the ineligibility of the child for an accelerated
Medi-Cal determination and that the application of the child will not
be forwarded to the county pursuant to this section. The parent or
guardian shall be given the opportunity to refute this finding and if
it is verified that the child does not have   shall
notify the parent or guardian that the district received notice of
their interest in applying for Medi-Cal and that the district has
found that the child already has Medi-Cal. The notice shall further
state that if the child has not received a Medi-Cal Beneficiary
Identification Card or they do not know how to use their Medi-Cal
services, the parent or guardian should call the county for
assistance. If it is verfied that the child does not have  an
active Medi-Cal or Healthy Families case, the application of the
child shall be processed for an accelerated Medi-Cal determination
and forwarded to the entity designated by the State Department of
Health Care Services to make an accelerated determination and the
local agency that determines eligibility under the Medi-Cal program.
   (3) Each school district or county superintendent that chooses to
share information pursuant to this subdivision shall enter into a
memorandum of understanding with the local agency that determines
eligibility under the Medi-Cal program, that sets forth the roles and
responsibilities of each agency and the process to be used in
sharing the information.
   (4) The local agency that determines eligibility under the
Medi-Cal program shall only use information provided by applicants on
the school lunch application for purposes directly related to the
administration of the Medi-Cal program.
   (5) After school districts share information regarding the school
lunch application with the entity designated by the State Department
of Health Care Services to make an accelerated determination and the
local agency that determines eligibility under the Medi-Cal program,
for the purpose of determining Medi-Cal program eligibility, the
local agency and the school district shall not share information
about school lunch participation or the Medi-Cal program eligibility
information with each other except as specifically authorized under
subdivision (n) of Section 14005.41 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code and other provisions of law.
   (c) The notifications and consent referenced in subdivision (a)
and the procedures set out in subdivision (b) shall include the
Healthy Families Program and the relevant county- and local-sponsored
health insurance programs as necessary to implement Section 14005.41
of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
   (d) If a school district finds that the child is eligible for
reduced price or paid meals under the National School Lunch Program
and consent was provided as described in subdivision (b), the entity
designated by the State Department of Health Care Services to make an
accelerated determination shall notify the parent or guardian of the
ineligibility of the child for an accelerated Medi-Cal determination
pursuant to Section 14005.41 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
The notification shall include information on other available health
programs for which the child may be eligible.