BILL ANALYSIS
AB 95
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 1, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 95 (Torlakson) - As Introduced: January 6, 2009
SUBJECT : School meals: reimbursement.
SUMMARY : An urgency measure that appropriates $19,500,000 to
fully fund all free and reduced price meal reimbursement claims
for the 2008-09 fiscal year; and, specifies the Superintendent
of Public Instruction shall notify the Legislature in years when
the annual funding is insufficient to fully fund all eligible
reimbursement claims. Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies, as an urgency measure, that if the Superintendent
of Public Instruction determines that the appropriation set
forth in the annual Budget Act is insufficient to fully fund
all eligible reimbursement claims, the California Department
of Education shall notify the Legislature of the statutory
funding amount necessary to reimburse school districts at the
rate prescribed for providing nutritious meals to all needy
students.
2)Appropriates $19,500,000 to fully fund all free and reduced
price meal reimbursement claims for the 2008-09 fiscal year.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires each school district or county superintendent of
schools maintaining any kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12,
inclusive, to provide one nutritionally adequate free or
reduced-price meal for each needy pupil during each schoolday.
2)Permits a school district or county office of education to use
funds made available through any applicable federal or state
program or to use its own funds to provide the required meals.
3)Requires the CDE to award grants, as specified, to school
districts and county offices of education for the initiation
and expansion of school breakfast programs and summer food
service programs.
FISCAL EFFECT : The measure specifies an appropriation of
$19,500,000 in the 2008-09 fiscal year.
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COMMENTS : The National School Lunch Program was instituted in
1946 and expanded in 1966 to address times of economic crisis
and child malnutrition. Currently, the federal government
provides $2.57 and $2.17 respectively for every free or reduced
price meal served and the state pays an additional $0.2195 for
each meal served. State law requires school districts in
California to provide a nutritious meal to every low-income
student. Recently enacted state law provided an additional
$0.06 (included in the $0.2195) per free and reduced-priced meal
on the condition that local educational agencies agree to not
serve any food containing artificial trans fat or that have been
deep fried, par fried, or flash fried.
According to the California Department of Education (CDE), the
appropriation of $19.5 million in this bill will keep California
schools from running out of school meal reimbursement funds by
April 2009. California served a record 770.6 million meals in
2007-08, 28 million more meals than the year before, which is a
4.5% increase. Historically, the state has experienced a 1%
increase per year. Furthermore, recent findings by CDE show an
alarming 9.7% rise in meals served in a comparison between the
first six months of actual meals served this year and the same
period in 2007-08.
Based on actual data collected through December 2008, CDE has
projected the cost of the school meal program for 2008-09 to be
$142.3 million. The current appropriation is $125.7 million,
which means the total additional funding needed to fully fund
the school meal program based on current data is $16.6 million.
The appropriation for the school meal program in 2007-08 was
$123.3 million and was under funded by $7.4 million. The
sponsor of the bill, the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
has indicated he will work with the author of the measure to
amend the bill throughout the legislative process to reflect the
most current data available.
This past year, however, the economic downturn; increased
nutritional standards for schools; schools serving more
nutritious and fresh foods; and, higher costs for food, energy,
labor, and benefits have all contributed to the striking
increase in the number of low-income children participating in
the state's meal programs and the resultant funding shortfall.
Currently, 50.9 % of California's public K-12 student
population, or 3,118,053 students, are enrolled in the state's
AB 95
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free and reduced-priced meal programs.
According to the author, the school meal programs were created
to battle hunger and malnutrition. Even amongst headlines about
childhood obesity, these programs are necessary more than ever
to ensure our students do not go hungry, are ready to learn, and
are eating healthy foods instead of cheap junk foods. We know
that many children receive their only daily meal from school.
And we know school meals work: study after study tells us that
adequate nutrition is essential to learning. Children who eat a
well balanced diet have better test scores and academic
performance, and fewer problems of absenteeism, tardiness, and
poor discipline. The greatest need for our children's
safety-net program comes when we can least afford it. However,
its importance can't be overstated. As we grapple with how to
close our enormous budget shortfall, the last thing we should do
is turn our backs on everything we know about nutrition, hunger,
and our children.
While the school meal program is an important program for
California's neediest pupils, this bill does not make
substantive changes in policy and instead simply appropriates
additional funding to the program in order to fill a budget
shortfall. The discussion of the merits of this appropriation
is best suited for the Budget Subcommittee on Education.
Committee staff recommends the issue be considered by the Budget
Subcommittee on Education for discussion.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O'Connell
(Sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
American Sports Institute
California Association for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance (CAHPERD)
California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO)
California Child Development Administrators Association
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Food Policy Advocates
California School Boards Association
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Cambridge Community Center
AB 95
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Children Now
Congregation Emanu-El
Contra Costa County Schools Insurance Group
Hayward Unified School District, Board of Education
Help Group
Hunger Action Los Angeles
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Los Angeles Unified School District
Parlier Unified School District
Placer Union High School District
Pomona Unified School District
Prevention Institute
Redding School District
Redwood Empire Food Bank
Revolution Foods
San Diego Unified School District
San Francisco Bar Pilots
San Francisco Unified School District
Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County
Small School Districts' Association
State Public Affairs Committee
Valley High School
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087