Bill Text: CA AB2287 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Free and reduced-price meals: gluten-free meals.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-08-20 - From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on ED. [AB2287 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB2287-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2287 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 20, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 19, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 3, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Pan
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Skinner)
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to add Section 49557.25 to the Education Code, relating to
school nutrition , and declaring the urgency thereof, to take
effect immediately .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2287, as amended, Pan. Free and reduced-price meals:
gluten-free meals.
Existing
(1) Existing law provides for a
school lunch program under which eligible pupils receive free or
reduced-price meals.
This bill would require school districts and county
superintendents of schools to consider incorporating into the free or
reduced-price meals application packet or notification of
eligibility for the free or reduced-price meals program a
notification and request for a gluten-free meal if a child qualifies
for free or reduced-price school meals and the child has a statement
from a licensed physician supporting a need for gluten-free meals, as
specified. The bill would require school districts and county
superintendents of schools to consider making meal substitutions for
any pupil a child who does not meet the
definition of disability pursuant to federal law but does have
celiac disease, a wheat allergy, or a gluten intolerance and the
pupil child has provided a written
statement to the school signed by a licensed physician identifying
the pupil child as having one of these
conditions. By imposing additional requirements on school districts
and county superintendents of schools, the bill would create a
state-mandated local program.
The
(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.
(3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.
Vote: majority 2/3 . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Celiac disease, also known as celiac sprue or gluten-sensitive
enteropathy, is a permanent intolerance to the gliadin faction of
wheat protein and related alcohol-soluble prolamines found in rye and
barley, commonly known as gluten.
(b) For people with celiac disease, exposure to gluten causes an
autoimmune condition where the body starts attacking normal
intestinal tissue. In response to eating gluten, the body destroys
the intestinal villi, which are the small, finger-like projections in
the small intestine that absorb nutrients from food. Repeated
exposure to gluten, and resulting intestinal inflammation and
destruction of the villi, leads to malabsorption of food, iron
deficiency anemia, ostopenia, osteoporosis, increased risk of
developing other autoimmune disorders, and gastrointestinal cancers.
(c) Gluten intolerance and wheat allergies may include reactions
in the skin, mouth, gastrointestinal tract, and lungs and cause
rashes, wheezing, lip swelling, gassiness, abdominal pain, abdominal
distention or constipation, and diarrhea.
(d) The National Institutes of Health estimates that 1 in 133
people with no genetic risk factors have celiac disease, while up to
1 in 22 people with genetic risk factors have celiac disease. Gluten
intolerance and wheat allergy are even more common, with wheat
allergy being one of the top eight food allergies in the United
States.
(e) Federal regulations, Part 15b of Subtitle A of Title 7 of the
Code of Federal Regulations, require substitutions or modifications
in school meals for children whose disabilities restrict their diets.
A child with a disability must be provided substitutions in foods
when that need is supported by a statement signed by a licensed
physician.
SEC. 2. Section 49557.25 is added to the Education Code,
immediately following Section 49557.2, to read:
49557.25. (a) School districts and county superintendents of
schools shall consider incorporating the following information into
the free or reduced-price meals application packet or notification of
eligibility for the free or reduced-price meals program using simple
and culturally appropriate language:
(1) A notification that if a child qualifies for free or
reduced-price school meals and the child has a statement from a
licensed physician supporting a need for gluten-free meals, then the
child may request a gluten-free meal.
(2) A request for the applicant's consent for the child to receive
a gluten-free meal if eligible for free or reduced-price school
meals and the child has a statement from a licensed physician
supporting a need for gluten-free meals.
(b) School districts and county superintendents of schools shall
consider making meal substitutions for any pupil
a child who satisfies all of the following criteria:
(1) Does not meet the definition of disability pursuant to federal
law.
(2) Has celiac disease, a wheat allergy, or a gluten intolerance.
(3) Has provided a written statement to the school signed by a
licensed physician identifying the pupil
child as having one of the conditions listed in paragraph (2).
(c) Effective January 1, 2015, the notifications referenced in
subdivision (a) shall comply with the federal Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) and any other
applicable federal or state disabled access law.
(d) A school district also may include the notifications detailed
in subdivision (a) in the notifications at the beginning of the first
semester or quarter of the regular school term required pursuant to
Section 48980.
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. 4. This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure that California public schools comply with
federal regulations to provide gluten-free meal options for pupils
with celiac disease at the earliest possible time, it is necessary
that this act take effect immediately.
