49531.
(a) A school district, county superintendent of schools, or charter school child nutrition entity may apply to the department for all available federal and state funds that they are eligible for so that a nutritionally adequate breakfast and lunch or lunch, or both, may be made available provided to pupils each schoolday at each schoolsite or school facility where pupils are present during the schoolday and school in the school districts or maintained by the county superintendents of schools, or at private schools and parochial schools and to children receiving child development services. A school district, county superintendent of schools, or charter school The state board shall adopt rules and regulations for the operation of lunch and breakfast programs in school districts. A child nutrition entity that receives state funds pursuant to this article shall make available provide breakfasts and lunches in accordance with state and federal guidelines. If an entity’s school meal service is not in compliance with state and federal guidelines or regulations, or both, including noncompliance determined during administrative reviews, procurement reviews, or complaint investigations conducted by the department, the entity shall be ineligible for state meal reimbursement. (b) (1) A nutritionally adequate breakfast, breakfast or lunch, for the purposes of this article, is one that qualifies for reimbursement under the most current meal pattern for the federal School Breakfast Program, as defined in Section 220.8 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations and paragraph (2). A nutritionally adequate lunch for purposes of this article is one that qualifies for reimbursement under the most current meal pattern for the federal National School Lunch Program, as defined in Section 210.10 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations and paragraph (2). meets all of the following requirements, as applicable:
(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) to (6), inclusive, the breakfast or lunch meets, at minimum, the nutrition standards and meal patterns, including food components and quantities, in the final rule for school meals established in the 2012 federal “Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs” (77 Fed. Reg. 4088 (Jan. 26, 2012)).
(2) A nutritionally adequate From the 2022–23 school year to the 2024–25 school year, inclusive, the breakfast or lunch shall not consist of more added sugar than the amount allowed by the federal School Breakfast Program and the federal meets the Target 2 sodium requirements established in the 2012 federal “Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch Program, respectively. and School Breakfast Programs” (77 Fed. Reg. 4088 (Jan. 26, 2012)).
(3) Beginning December 31, 2027, a nutritionally adequate breakfast or lunch, excluding foods provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foods in Schools program, shall not contain any of the following substances: From the 2025–26 school year to the 2029–30 school year, inclusive, the breakfast or lunch meets the Target 3 sodium requirements established in the 2012 federal “Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs” (77 Fed. Reg. 4088 (Jan. 26, 2012)).
(A) Blue 1 (CAS 3844-45-9).
(B) Blue 2 (CAS 860-22-0).
(C) Green 3 (CAS 2353-45-9).
(D) Red 40 (CAS 25956-17-6).
(E) Yellow 5 (CAS 1934-21-0).
(F) Yellow 6 (CAS 2783-94-0).
(c) (4) (1) Commencing If the federal School Breakfast Program and federal National School Lunch Program allow more added sugar or sodium than is recommended by the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans, established by the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the State Department of Education shall convene representatives from the California School Nutrition Association and cafeteria workers, or their representatives, to work in partnership to provide the following: with the 2030–31 school year, the breakfast or lunch contains a sodium limit determined by the department in alignment with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (March 5, 2019).
(A) (5) Maximum daily added sugar intake recommendations for each grade level commensurate with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ standards for children two years of age or older. Commencing with the 2022–23 school year, the grains offered in the breakfast or lunch conform to the grain requirements established in the 2012 federal “Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs” (77 Fed. Reg. 4088 (Jan. 26, 2012)).
(B) (6) Maximum daily added sodium intake recommendations for each grade level commensurate with recommendations for children and adolescents in Commencing with the 2024–25 school year, the breakfast or lunch meets, on average over the school week, requirements that the department develops that are consistent with the quantitative recommendations for limiting added sugars established by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Americans published pursuant to Section 301 of the federal National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. Sec. 5341).
(2) Recommendations pursuant to this subdivision shall encourage the prioritization of foods with higher nutritional density when there is added sugar or sodium in the food.
(d) (c) State reimbursement for meals provided pursuant to this article shall be limited to meals made available to pupils pursuant to Section 49501.5. provided to pupils who are within the relevant definitions and criteria in federal statutes and regulations that prescribe eligibility for free and reduced-price meals.