Amendment #226 to H5150

Student Nutrition

Mr. Vargas of Haverhill moves 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: (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.

(b) 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.

(c) This provision shall take effect no later than March 30, 2021 so that eligible school districts and schools can notify USDA of their identified student percentage numbers for school year 2021/2022."

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #226 to H5150

Student Nutrition