Bill Text: CA AB842 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Child nutrition: school, childcare, and preschool meals.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2020-01-21 - Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file. [AB842 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB842-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  July 10, 2019

Amended  IN  Senate  June 19, 2019

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 02, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 842

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Introduced by Assembly Members Limón and Eggman

February 20, 2019

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An act to amend Sections 8204, 47613.5, 49501, 49531, 49550, and 49552 49552, and 49553 of, and to add Sections 8235.1 and 49430.5 to, the Education Code, relating to child nutrition.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 842, as amended, Limón. Child nutrition: school, childcare, and preschool meals.

(1) Existing law requires each school district or county superintendent of schools maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and, commencing with the 2019–20 school year, each charter school, to provide for each needy pupil one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday. Existing law sets the reimbursement rate for free or reduced-price meals served to needy pupils by family daycare homes at 75% of the meals served, and sets, for the 2018–19 2019–20 fiscal year, the reimbursement a school receives for free and reduced-price meals sold or served to pupils in elementary, middle, or high schools at $0.2368 $0.2445 per meal, and for meals served in childcare centers and homes at $0.1764 $0.1822 per meal.

This bill would repeal the provisions setting the reimbursement rate for free or reduced-price meals served to needy pupils by family daycare homes at 75% of the meals served. The bill would require the reimbursement rate for meals served in schools and childcare centers and homes to be established in the annual Budget Act.

(2) The Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Education, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer childcare and development programs that offer a full range of services to eligible children from infancy to 13 years of age, inclusive.

This bill would require a school district, county superintendent of schools, or charter school maintaining a childcare and development program to provide each needy child child, as defined, that attends the childcare and development program with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal meal, as defined, during each program day.

(3) Existing law declares the policy of the state that each childcare and development facility has an obligation to provide for the nutritional needs of the children attending that childcare and development facility

This bill would authorize a childcare and development program, in order to prevent hunger by providing nutritious meals to children, to use funds made available to the childcare and development program through any federal or state program the purpose of which includes the provision of meals to a child, or to do so at the expense of the childcare and development program.

(4) Existing law requires the Superintendent to administer all California state preschool programs, which include part-day and full-day age and developmentally appropriate programs for 3- and 4-year-old children, as provided.

This bill would require, commencing July 1, 2020, each part-day California state preschool program to provide to each child enrolled in the program access to at least one nutritious meal per program day. The bill would require, commencing July 1, 2020, each full-day California state preschool program to provide to each child enrolled in the program access to at least 2 nutritious meals or 2 snacks and one nutritious meal per program day.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) Shamefully, California’s child poverty rate is the highest in the nation, which greatly harms children and hampers their health, development, and opportunity for success.

(2) California’s extraordinarily high cost of living forces many low-wage families to work long hours and make difficult choices between basic needs such as housing, transportation, medicine, and food.

(3) The first five years of life are critical for child development. Proper nutrition is essential to support physical, intellectual, and social-emotional growth.

(4) Childcare and preschool programs have a unique opportunity to support California’s young children, as young children spend an average of 36 hours per week in a form of childcare.

(5) The childcare workforce is woefully undersupported and underfunded, leaving more than one-half of childcare workers living at or below the poverty level themselves.

(6) Efforts to improve the childcare workforce’s ability to attend to the nutritional needs of low-income children must include state funding that leverages federal funds for nutritious food.

(7) Since 1975, California has ensured that low-income, K–12 pupils receive at least one free or reduced-price meal during the schoolday to support health, growth, and learning. As California continues to grow public education options to meet the needs of young children and their families, the guarantee of school meals should extend to public preschool pupils as well.

(b) Because hungry children struggle to learn, grow, and achieve, it is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this measure to adequately support childcare providers to provide nutrition to children in care, and to ensure that every needy child attending public school, including those under five years of age, are provided nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meals during each program day.

SEC. 2.

 Section 8204 of the Education Code is amended to read:

8204.

 (a) In recognition of the demonstrated relationship between food and good nutrition and the capacity of children to develop and learn, it is the policy of this state that no child shall be hungry while in attendance in childcare and development facilities and that childcare and development facilities have an obligation to provide for the nutritional needs of children in attendance.

(b) In order to prevent hunger by providing nutritious meals to children, a childcare and development program may use funds made available to the childcare and development program through any federal or state program the purpose of which includes the provision of meals to a child, including, but not limited to, the Child and Adult Care Food Program or the state meal program, or may do so at the expense of the childcare and development program.

SEC. 3.

 Section 8235.1 is added to the Education Code, to read:

8235.1.

 (a) Each part-day California state preschool program shall provide to each child enrolled in the program access to at least one nutritious meal per program day.

(b) Each full-day California state preschool program shall provide to each child enrolled in the program access to at least two nutritious meals or two snacks and one nutritious meal per program day.

(c) For purposes of this section, “nutritious meal” includes a nutritionally adequate breakfast or lunch that qualifies for reimbursement under the most recent current meal pattern for the federal child nutrition programs.

(d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2020.

SEC. 4.

 Section 47613.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:

47613.5.

 (a) (1) A charter school shall provide each needy pupil, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 49552, with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 49553, during each schoolday.

(2) A charter school that maintains a childcare and development program, as defined in Section 8208, shall provide at least one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal that qualifies for reimbursement under the most recent meal pattern for the federal child nutrition programs meal, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 49553, to each needy child child, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 49552, that attends the childcare and development program during each program day.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a charter school that offers nonclassroom-based instruction, as defined in Section 47612.5, shall meet the requirements of this section for any eligible pupil on any schoolday that the pupil is scheduled for educational activities, as defined in Section 49010, lasting two or more hours, at a schoolsite, resource center, meeting space, or other satellite facility operated by the charter school.

(c) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a charter school shall implement this section commencing with the 2019–20 school year.

(2) A charter school that becomes operational on or after July 1, 2019, shall do both of the following:

(A) Implement this section no later than July 1 of the school year after becoming operational.

(B) Provide written notification disclosing the period of time for which the charter school will not implement subdivision (a). The written notice shall be provided at the time of application for enrollment in the charter school to the parent or guardian of each pupil or, if the pupil is a foster child or youth or a homeless child or youth, the pupil’s educational rights holder. The written notice shall be provided in languages other than English, consistent with languages used for the charter school enrollment application.

(d) The chartering authority shall, upon request by a charter school and to the extent feasible within existing resources, provide technical assistance to the charter school in implementing this section.

(e) A charter school may enter into a partnership with an existing school food authority for the purposes of implementing this section.

SEC. 5.

 Section 49430.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:

49430.5.

 The reimbursement rate a school or child development program receives for free and reduced-price meals sold or served to pupils included within a school district, charter school, or county office of education, or to children in childcare centers or homes, shall be established in the annual Budget Act.

SEC. 6.

 Section 49501 of the Education Code is amended to read:

49501.

 The governing board of a school district may, for purposes of Section 49500, establish rules by which to determine which pupils are needy.

SEC. 7.

 Section 49531 of the Education Code is amended to read:

49531.

 (a) Any A child nutrition entity may apply to the department for all available federal and state funds so that a nutritionally adequate breakfast or lunch, or both, may be provided to pupils each schoolday at each school in the school districts or maintained by the county superintendents of schools, or at private schools and parochial schools and to children receiving child development services. The state board shall adopt rules and regulations for the operation of lunch and breakfast programs in school districts. A child nutrition entity that receives state funds pursuant to this article, article shall provide breakfasts and lunches in accordance with state and federal guidelines.

(b) A (1) For a needy pupil, a nutritionally adequate breakfast, for the purposes of this article, is one that qualifies for reimbursement under the most current meal pattern for the federal School Breakfast Program Program, as defined in Section 220.8 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations. A Regulations, and a nutritionally adequate lunch for purposes of this article is one that qualifies for reimbursement under the most current meal pattern for the federal National School Lunch Program, as defined in Section 210.10 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(2) For a needy child, a nutritionally adequate breakfast, for purposes of this article, is one that qualifies for reimbursement under the most current meal pattern for the federal School Breakfast Program, as defined in Section 220.8 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or under the most current meal pattern for the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program, and a nutritionally adequate lunch, for purposes of this article, is one that qualifies for reimbursement under the most current meal pattern for the federal National School Lunch Program, as defined in Section 210.10 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or under the most current meal pattern for the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program, including a supper under that program.

(c) State reimbursement for meals provided pursuant to this article shall be limited to meals provided to pupils and children who are within the relevant definitions and criteria in federal statutes and regulations that prescribe eligibility for free and reduced-price meals.

SEC. 7.SEC. 8.

 Section 49550 of the Education Code is amended to read:

49550.

 (a) Notwithstanding any other law, each school district or county superintendent of schools maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, or maintaining a childcare and development program, as defined in Section 8208, shall provide each needy pupil or child with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday or program day, as applicable.

(b) In order to comply with subdivision (a), a school district or county office of education may use funds made available through any federal or state program the purpose of which includes the provision of meals to a pupil, including the federal School Breakfast Program, the federal National School Lunch Program, the federal Summer Food Service Program, the federal Seamless Summer Option, or the state meal program, or may do so at the expense of the school district or county office of education.

SEC. 8.SEC. 9.

 Section 49552 of the Education Code is amended to read:

49552.

 (a) For purposes of this article, “needy pupil” means a pupil who meets federal eligibility criteria for free and reduced-price meals as referenced in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 49531.

(b) For purposes of this article, “needy child” means a child who meets federal eligibility criteria for free and reduced-price meals as referenced in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 49531.

SEC. 10.

 Section 49553 of the Education Code is amended to read:

49553.

 (a) (1) A nutritionally adequate meal, meal for a needy pupil, for the purposes of this article, is a breakfast or lunch as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 49531 that qualifies for reimbursement under the federal child nutrition program regulations.

(2) A nutritionally adequate meal for a needy child, for purposes of this article, is a meal as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 49531 that qualifies for reimbursement under the federal child nutrition program regulations.

(b) (1) (A) For the purposes of special school nutrition supplements provided to pregnant or lactating pupils under Section 49559, paragraph (9) of subdivision (c) of Section 54745, protein and grain meal components for any given day shall, together, offer a total of five ounces of protein, one ounce of which shall be cheese or eight ounces of milk and three servings from the grain group, preferably whole and nutritious grains. This may be accomplished by adding one ounce of protein and one serving from the grain group at breakfast or serving these as a snack, and by adding one or two ounces of protein, one ounce of which shall be cheese or eight ounces of milk, to lunch, or by offering a morning supplement consisting of two or three ounces of protein, one ounce of which must be cheese, or eight ounces of milk, and one or two servings from the grain group.

(B) Meal components where only breakfast is served shall be increased to a total including one ounce of protein and two servings from the grain group, preferably whole and nutritious grains.

(C) Where both breakfast and lunch are provided, they shall, together, provide a total of five ounces of protein foods, one ounce of which shall be cheese, three servings from the grain group, preferably whole and nutritious grains, one and one-fourth cups from the fruit and vegetable group, and one pint from the milk group.

(2) The following options shall be allowed:

(A) One cup of fruit in place of one serving of the grain group, once a week.

(B) One cup of yogurt, made with pasteurized milk, in place of eight ounces of milk or one ounce of cheese, up to two times per week.