Requires all public school districts, charter schools and non-public schools in the state that participate in the national school lunch program or school breakfast program as provided in the national child nutrition act to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to the student.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1941
SPONSOR: Gonzalez-Rojas TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to providing universal
school meals to students
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Relates to providing universal school meals to students
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends education law by adding section 915-a to require all
public school districts, charter schools, and non-public schools to
serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to students.
Section 2 sets forth the bill's effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The health and economic crises brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have
made the federal school meal programs more important than ever. A
record number of New Yorkers do not have enough to eat and the price of
food is very high. It is likely that the economic recovery for families
who struggle to put food on the table will take years.
While many New York schools - predominantly our larger, urban school
districts offer meals at no cost for all through CEP, 270 schools in our
state are eligible for CEP but not participating, often because they are
unable to make it work financially. Many of these schools are our small-
est school districts in rural communities, where poverty is less concen-
trated but still prevalent.
There has never been a more important time to invest in school meals.
After June 2022, over 2,000 schools and nearly 800,000 students across
our state lost access to free breakfast and lunch.
This bill would ensure that every K-12 student in New York has equal
access to a nutritious breakfast and lunch at school to support their
health and academic success at no cost to them.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2022: A9518 reported to education committee
FISCAL IMPLICATIONSTO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1941
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 23, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GONZALEZ-ROJAS, RIVERA, GALLAGHER, LUNSFORD,
MAHER, McDONOUGH, THIELE, BURGOS, ZACCARO, BARRETT, CONRAD, LEVENBERG,
ROZIC, ARDILA, SHIMSKY, ALVAREZ, EPSTEIN, AUBRY, CLARK, ANDERSON,
DAVILA, JEAN-PIERRE, SIMON, FAHY, DICKENS, DE LOS SANTOS, COOK, SHRES-
THA, JACKSON, WEPRIN, KELLES, EICHENSTEIN, DeSTEFANO, RAGA, HEVESI,
K. BROWN, BRABENEC, SILLITTI, SIMONE, BORES -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to providing universal
school meals to students
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 915-a
2 to read as follows:
3 § 915-a. Universal school meals. 1. The department shall require all
4 public school districts, charter schools and non-public schools in the
5 state that participate in the national school lunch program or school
6 breakfast program as provided in the Richard B. Russell National School
7 Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act, as amended, to serve breakfast
8 and lunch at no cost to the student. Public school districts, charter
9 schools and non-public schools shall maximize federal reimbursement for
10 school breakfast and lunch programs by adopting Provision 2, the federal
11 Community Eligibility Provision, or any other provision under such act,
12 the National School Lunch Act or the National Child Nutrition Act.
13 2. The department shall reimburse the difference between the amount
14 paid by the United States Department of Agriculture and the free rate as
15 set annually by the United States Secretary of Agriculture under 42
16 U.S.C. 1759a for each school.
17 3. The department in consultation with the office of temporary and
18 disability assistance shall promulgate any rule or regulation needed for
19 public school districts, charter schools and non-public schools to
20 promote the supplemental nutrition assistance program to a student or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05356-01-3
A. 1941 2
1 person in parental relation to a student by either providing application
2 assistance or a direct referral to an outreach partner identified by the
3 department to the office of temporary and disability assistance to
4 increase the number of students directly certified for free or reduced
5 price school meals.
6 4. In addition to fulfilling any other applicable state and federal
7 requirements, the department shall provide technical assistance to
8 assist public school districts, charter schools, and non-public schools
9 in the transition to universal school meals to ensure successful program
10 operations and to maximize federal funding, including:
11 a. Assisting local educational agencies with one or more community-el-
12 igibility qualifying schools in meeting any state and federal require-
13 ments necessary in order to receive reimbursement through the community
14 eligibility provision.
15 b. If a school or district is ineligible to receive reimbursement
16 through the community eligibility provision, assisting the school or
17 district in achieving eligibility and, if that is not feasible, assist
18 the school or district in determining the viability of using Provision 2
19 or other special federal provisions available to schools.
20 c. Maximizing direct certification for specific populations as allow-
21 able under federal rules.
22 § 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.
