Amendment ID: S2480-5

Amendment 5

Community Eligibility Provision

Ms. Creem moves that the proposed new text be amended by inserting the following new section:-

"SECTION _. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, school districts and individual schools that participate in the national school lunch program and do not currently participate in the federal Community Eligibility Provision or Provision 2 shall be required to elect said federal school lunch options available under the temporary United States Department of Agriculture’s pandemic extensions granted to school districts for school year 2021/2022. This provision shall apply only to schools and school districts with a minimum identified percentage set by the department of early and secondary education and as defined under 7 C.F.R .245.9(f)(3)(i). This provision may be waived if the district is able to justify to the department that implementation shall incur financial hardships to the district, the district school board votes before September 30, 2021 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. School districts which the department determines are potentially eligible for said federal options shall be required to attend at least one training offered by the department to learn about community eligibility provision available to said district before the vote taken by the school committee.