Amendment #184 to H4879

Promoting Student Nutrition

Representatives Vargas of Haverhill and Kane of Shrewsbury move to amend the bill by adding the following section:

"SECTION XXXX. Chapter 71 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 72 the following section:-

Section 72A. Maximizing Federal School Nutrition Revenue

(a) School districts and individual schools with sixty percent or more identified student percentage, as defined by 7 C.F.R . 245.9(f), shall be required to elect and implement the federal Community Eligibility Provision or Provision 2 to provide universal free school breakfast and lunch to all students. This provision may be waived if the district is able to justify to the department that implementation will incur financial hardship to the district.

Individual schools with fifty percent or more identified student percentage, as defined by 7 C.F.R . 245.9(f), shall be required to elect and implement the federal community eligibility option or Provision 2 to provide universal free breakfast and lunch to all students unless the district school board votes before June 1 of the first year of eligibility to not participate in one of the federal options, or the department determines that the school district and/or individual schools no longer have the requisite qualifying percentage. A school nutrition director or designee shall be required to attend at least one training by the department to learn about community eligibility provision available to said district before the vote taken by the school committee.

(b) School districts that participate in the national school lunch program shall take steps to maximize federal revenues and minimize debt on families by, at least monthly, taking steps to directly certify students for free school meal status under protocol determined by the department. The department shall continue to offer assistance to districts to improve the direct certification process and reduce administrative burdens on said districts. The department shall also consult with representatives from the school nutrition association and other appropriate stakeholders to advise the department on best practices to maximize direct certification."

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #184 to H4879

Promoting Student Nutrition