To the extent federal funds are available for free or reduced price meals, present law generally requires each school board to establish: (1) A school lunch program in every school under its jurisdiction; and (2) A school breakfast program in the following schools based on the cumulative analysis of school lunch participation for the month of April of the preceding school year: (A) Every school that contains kindergarten through grade eight in which 25% or more of the students participated in the school lunch program at a free or reduced price; and (B) In every school that does not contain a kindergarten through grade eight in which 40% or more of the students participated in the school lunch program at a free or reduced price. Present law provides a process, through administrative rules, by which a local school board may waive the requirement to create a school breakfast program pursuant to (2) by making certain findings concerning disruption to the school schedule, low participation, or unavailable or inadequate cost reimbursement. Present law requires that each LEA operating a school breakfast program pursuant to (2) be reimbursed by the state for any additional expenses to that LEA that are incurred as a result of implementation of the school breakfast program. Under present law, the continuation of the school breakfast program is contingent on federal funding. This bill replaces present law with a requirement that each local board of education establish a school lunch program and a school breakfast program that provides a free lunch and breakfast to each student enrolled in a school under the board's jurisdiction who is eligible for free or reduced-price meals, according to rules established by the state board of education. Subject to available funding, this bill requires the state to reimburse each LEA the cost of providing a free breakfast and lunch served to each student enrolled in the LEA who is eligible for reduced price meals after all federal funds available have been applied.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 49-6-2302, 49-6-2303, 49-2-114(a), 49-2-114