BILL NUMBER: AB 839 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Brownley
FEBRUARY 17, 2011
An act to add Section 49550.4 to the Education Code, relating to
pupil nutrition.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 839, as amended, Brownley. Pupil nutrition: federal School
Breakfast Program participation.
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. Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that the
federal School Breakfast Program be made available in all schools
where it is needed to provide adequate nutrition for children in
attendance. Existing law requires the State Department of Education
to, in cooperation with school districts and county superintendents
of schools, provide information and limited financial assistance to
encourage school breakfast program startup and expansion into all
qualified schools. Existing law encourages school districts and
charter schools that do not operate school breakfast programs to
apply for funding to establish breakfast programs using funds
appropriated for this purpose in the annual Budget Act.
This bill would state findings and declarations regarding the
importance of breakfast to the achievement of pupils. This bill would
require school districts to undertake specific actions to
increase access to the federal School Breakfast Program. The bill
would require school districts to submit a report to the State
Department of Education on each noncharter, public schoolsite within
the district that did not operate a federal School Breakfast Program
in the previous school year, hear and discuss the report at 2 school
district board meetings, and adopt a resolution for submission to the
department that indicates which schoolsites will continue not to
operate the program and articulates the reason for continued
nonoperation, and which schoolsites will begin to operate the program
and provides a timeline for implementation of the program
dist ricts that elect to apply for funds under
specified categorical programs to, in the process of the school
district board approving the required application, use data required
in the application, specifically, the number of pupils eligible for
free and reduced-price meals, to assess and discuss, in a regularly
scheduled public school district board meeting to review and consider
approval of the required application, access to the federal School
Breakfast Program and participation in the school breakfast program,
as specified. This bill would require school districts that apply for
those funds to include specified information in the application
relating to school participation in the federal School Breakfast
Program .
The bill would also require school districts to undertake
specified actions to increase participation in the federal School
Breakfast Program at sites where a breakfast program already exists.
The bill would require school districts to identify noncharter,
public schoolsites within the district that operate a federal School
Breakfast Program but experience low participation, as defined,
submit a report to the department regarding enrollment and
participation in the program and considering options concerning its
operation, hear and discuss the report at 2 school district board
meetings, and adopt a resolution for submission to the department
that indicates which schoolsites will continue to operate the program
without changes, and which schoolsites will continue to operate the
program with changes, and provides a timeline for implementing those
changes.
Because this bill would require school districts to perform
additional duties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
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 no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Children who eat breakfast have more healthful diets,
consuming more micronutrients and nutrient-rich foods like fruits,
vegetables, and milk, compared to children who do not eat breakfast.
(b) Research shows that breakfasts served at school are often more
nutritious than breakfasts served at home or elsewhere.
(c) Pupils who eat breakfast demonstrate better cognitive
performance and improved academic achievement.
(d) Pupils who participate in the federal School Breakfast Program
are more likely to have a healthier body weight than
nonparticipants.
(e) Effective school breakfast delivery models, like Classroom
Breakfast, have been shown to improve the learning environment for
all pupils by decreasing pupil absenteeism, tardiness, reports of
stomachache and headache, and disciplinary issues.
(f) Alternative delivery models, such as Classroom Breakfast and
Second Chance Breakfast, have been shown to significantly improve
school breakfast participation and yield fiscal benefits.
(g) Over 750 public schools in California do not offer the federal
School Breakfast Program.
(h) The 91 percent of public schools in California that do not
offer the federal School Breakfast Program fail to reach 2.2
2.3 million of the state's low-income public
school pupils.
(i) If participation in school breakfast programs
the federal School Breakfast Program matched
participation in school lunch programs the
federal school lunch program among low-income pupils,
California's public schools would receive an additional $350 million
in federal meal reimbursements.
(j) Through the state-mandated, school district board approval of
the consolidation application, many school district boards meet
annually to address the number of low-income pupils they serve. This
process presents an excellent opportunity for school district boards
to discuss the school breakfast program and its potential to support
these same pupils.
(k) Both the federal School Breakfast Program and the consolidated
application enable school districts to draw on funds designated to
serve low-income pupils. Integrating consideration of the school
breakfast program into the school district board approval of the
consolidated application will help school districts maximize federal
funds harnessed through the school breakfast program without delaying
or undermining access to categorical funds through the consolidated
application.
(j) Given these findings on
(l) Given the health, academic,
and fiscal benefits of school breakfast, all school districts should
assess the opportunities for implementing school breakfast at sites
not operating the federal School Breakfast Program and improving
school breakfast at sites with low rates of participation in the
federal School Breakfast Program.
SEC. 2. Section 49550.4 is added to the
Education Code, to read:
49550.4. (a) To increase access to the federal School Breakfast
Program, each school district shall do all of the following:
(1) Submit a report to the department on each noncharter, public
schoolsite within the district that did not operate a federal School
Breakfast Program in the previous school year that shall include all
of the following:
(A) The number of pupils enrolled at the site who are eligible to
receive free or reduced-price meals.
(B) The average daily participation in the federal National School
Lunch Program among low-income pupils at the site.
(C) The reasons for not operating a breakfast program at the site.
(2) Hear and discuss the report produced pursuant to paragraph (1)
at two school district board meetings.
(3) Adopt a resolution that does each of the following and submit
it to the department:
(A) Indicates which noncharter, public schoolsites that did not
operate a federal School Breakfast Program in the previous school
year will continue not to operate the program and articulates the
reason for continued nonoperation.
(B) Indicates which noncharter, public schoolsites that did not
operate a federal School Breakfast Program in the previous school
year will begin to operate the program and provides a timeline for
implementation of the program.
(b) To increase participation in the federal School Breakfast
Program at sites where a breakfast program already exists, school
districts shall do all of the following:
(1) Identify noncharter, public schoolsites within the district
that operate a federal School Breakfast Program but experience low
participation. For purposes of this subdivision, sites experiencing
low participation in the federal School Breakfast Program are those
in which either of the following apply:
(A) Average daily participation of free- and
reduced-price-lunch-eligible pupils in the federal School Breakfast
Program is 20 percent or less than the average daily participation of
free- and reduced-price-lunch-eligible pupils in the federal
National School Lunch Program.
(B) Average daily participation of free- and
reduced-price-lunch-eligible pupils in the federal School Breakfast
Program is 15 percent or less than the number of enrolled pupils who
are eligible for free and reduced-price meals.
(2) Submit a report to the department that includes all of the
following for each schoolsite in the school district:
(A) The number of pupils enrolled at the schoolsite who are
eligible to receive free or reduced-price school meals.
(B) The average daily participation in the federal National School
Lunch Program among low-income pupils at the schoolsite.
(C) Consideration of options including, but not limited to,
alternative service locations, service times, and payment structures
for the federal School Breakfast Program.
(3) Hear and discuss the report produced pursuant to paragraph (2)
at two school district board meetings.
(4) Adopt a resolution that does each of the following and submit
it to the department:
(A) Indicates which noncharter, public schoolsites within the
district that operate a federal School Breakfast Program will
continue to operate the program without changes to service locations,
service times, or payment structures and articulates the reasons and
fiscal analyses for not making changes to the program.
(B) Indicates which noncharter, public schoolsites within the
district that operate a federal School Breakfast Program will
continue to operate the program with changes to service locations,
service times, or payment structures and provides a timeline for
implementing those changes.
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.
SEC. 2. Section 49550.4 is added to the
Education Code , to read:
49550.4. To increase access to, and participation in, the federal
School Breakfast Program, school districts that elect to apply for
funding pursuant to Section 64000 shall, in the process of the school
district board approving the required application, use data required
in the application, specifically, the number of pupils eligible for
free and reduced-price meals, to assess and discuss, in a regularly
scheduled public school district board meeting to review and consider
approval of the required application, each of the following that
applies:
(a) Access to the federal School Breakfast Program. Specifically,
the school district board shall identify the number of pupils who are
eligible for free and reduced-price meals and attend a school that
does not operate the federal School Breakfast Program. The school
district board shall include in the application required by
subdivision (b) of Section 64000 a statement that does all of the
following:
(1) Affirms which schools not operating the federal School
Breakfast Program will continue not to operate the program and
articulates the reasons for continued nonoperation of the program at
these schools.
(2) Indicates which schools not operating the federal School
Breakfast Program will begin to operate the program and provides a
date of program implementation for each of these schools.
(b) Participation in the School Breakfast Program. Specifically,
the school district board shall do all of the following:
(1) Use existing data that is regularly collected for the purposes
of claiming school meal reimbursements to identify schoolsites
within the school district that have low participation in the federal
School Breakfast Program. For purposes of this subdivision, school
sites with low participation in the federal School Breakfast Program
are those in which either of the following applies:
(A) Average daily participation of free- and
reduced-price-meal-eligible pupils in the school breakfast program is
20 percent or less than the average daily participation of free- and
reduced-price-meal-eligible pupils in the National School Lunch
Program.
(B) Average daily participation of free- and
reduced-price-meal-eligible pupils in the school breakfast program is
15 percent or less than the number of enrolled pupils who are
eligible for free and reduced-price meals.
(2) Consider options, including, but not limited to, alternative
service locations, service times, and payment structures for
operating the federal School Breakfast Program.
(3) Include in the application required by subdivision (b) of
Section 64000 a statement that:
(A) Indicates which schools within the school district that
operate a federal School Breakfast Program with low participation
will continue the program without operational changes, including, but
not limited to, changes in service locations, service times, or
payment structures, and articulates the reasons and fiscal analyses
for not making these changes to the program.
(B) Indicates which schools within the school district that
operate a federal School Breakfast Program with low participation
will implement operational changes to the program and provides a date
of implementation for those changes.