Code Section Group

Education Code - EDC

TITLE 2. ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION [33000 - 65001]

  ( Title 2 enacted by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1010. )

DIVISION 4. INSTRUCTION AND SERVICES [46000 - 65001]

  ( Division 4 enacted by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1010. )

PART 27. PUPILS [48000 - 49703]

  ( Part 27 enacted by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1010. )

CHAPTER 9. Pupil and Personnel Health [49400 - 49590]

  ( Chapter 9 enacted by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1010. )

ARTICLE 8. Meals [49501.5 - 49506]
  ( Article 8 enacted by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1010. )

49501.5.
  

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, commencing with the 2022–23 school year all of the following shall apply:

(1) (A) A school district, county superintendent of schools, or charter school maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, shall make available a nutritionally adequate breakfast and a nutritionally adequate lunch free of charge and with adequate time to eat, as determined by that school district, county superintendent of schools, or charter school in consideration of the recommendations provided by the department pursuant to subdivision (e), during each schoolday to any pupil who requests a meal without consideration of the pupil’s eligibility for a federally funded free or reduced-price meal, except as described in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (B), with a maximum of one free breakfast meal and one free lunch meal, except for family daycare homes that shall be reimbursed for 75 percent of the meals served. The meals made available under this paragraph shall be nutritionally adequate meals that qualify for federal reimbursement. Participating school districts, county superintendents of schools, and charter schools shall comply with federal regulations for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, which includes established mealtimes.

(B) (i) The department shall submit a waiver request to the United States Department of Agriculture to allow for one meal provided during a schoolday lasting four hours or less to be served in a noncongregate manner.

(ii) If the department receives approval for the federal noncongregate waiver required by clause (i), school districts, county superintendents of schools, and charter schools may make available either a nutritionally adequate breakfast or a nutritionally adequate lunch in a noncongregate manner for meal service combinations resulting in either (I) a congregate nutritionally adequate breakfast and a noncongregate nutritionally adequate lunch or (II) a noncongregate nutritionally adequate breakfast and a congregate nutritionally adequate lunch. These meals shall be reimbursed under the provisions of paragraph (2) if both state and federal requirements are met.

(2) (A) The department shall provide state meal reimbursement to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools that participate in, and comply with the requirements of, the federal School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program, and any applicable state laws and regulations. State meal reimbursement shall be provided for reduced-price and paid meals served to pupils, as described in subdivision (b).

(B) As a condition of receiving funding pursuant to this paragraph, school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools shall conduct direct certification matching through the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System on a monthly basis.

(b) The amount of per-meal reimbursements provided under this section shall not exceed the difference between the sum of the amounts calculated from meals claimed based on the free combined breakfast and lunch reimbursement rates established by the United States Department of Agriculture and state meal contribution established in Section 49559, and the combined federal and state amounts reimbursed for reduced-price and paid meals claimed.

(c) The reimbursement required pursuant to this section shall be provided upon appropriation by the Legislature. This section shall not be operative until the Legislature has appropriated funds for purposes of this section.

(d) (1) The department may adopt, and as necessary revise, guidelines in accordance with this section at a publicly noticed meeting if the department complies with all of the following:

(A) Provides an opportunity for public comment at the meeting.

(B) Provides written public notice of a meeting at least 30 days before the meeting at which the guideline to be adopted will be considered or approved.

(C) For a substantive revision of the guidelines, the department provides written notice of a meeting at least 15 days before the meeting at which the revision will be considered or approved.

(2) The adoption or revision of guidelines pursuant to this subdivision is exempt from Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code until July 1, 2023.

(e) The department shall review available evidence-based research, studies, and survey findings with school food authorities and school food workers, or their representatives, to make a recommendation for the amount of time that is adequate for a pupil to eat a school meal, including, but not limited to, the steps necessary to ensure that a pupil has adequate time to eat school meals that are served pursuant to this section and examining the role that breakfast in the classroom and other innovative breakfast models can play in supporting adequate time to eat. These recommendations shall be made public on the department’s internet website on or before June 30, 2025.

(f) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a school district, county office of education, or charter school that offers independent study, pursuant to Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 51744) of Chapter 5 of Part 28, shall meet the requirements of this section for any pupil on any schoolday that the pupil is scheduled for educational activities, as defined in Section 49010, lasting two or more hours, at a schoolsite, resource center, meeting space, or other satellite facility. Pupils who are present during established meal times shall have a nutritionally adequate breakfast and nutritionally adequate lunch made available.

(g) The chartering authority shall, upon request by a charter school and to the extent feasible within existing resources, provide technical assistance to the charter school in implementing this section.

(h) A charter school may enter into a partnership with an existing school food authority for the purposes of implementing this section.

(i) The chartering authority shall, upon request by a new charter school, contract with a charter school to make available a nutritionally adequate school breakfast and a nutritionally adequate school lunch until the charter school is an approved school food authority or until July 1 of the school year after the charter school becomes operational, whichever occurs first. The contract shall not exceed the actual costs to provide meals to the charter school, including, but not limited to, additional staffing costs and delivery of meals to the schoolsite, that are not covered by federal or state meal reimbursement.

(j) To comply with subdivision (a), a school district, county office of education, or charter school may use funds made available through any federal or state program the purpose of which includes the provision of meals to a pupil, including the federal School Breakfast Program, the federal National School Lunch Program, the federal Summer Food Service Program, the federal Seamless Summer Option, or the state meal program, or may do so at the expense of the school district, county office of education, or charter school.

(k) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Nutritionally adequate breakfast” 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.

(2) “Nutritionally adequate lunch” 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.

(3) “Schoolday” means any day that pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, are present at a schoolsite or school facility for purposes of instruction or educational activities, as defined in Section 49010, including, but not limited to, pupil attendance at minimum days, state-funded preschool, transitional kindergarten, summer school including incoming kindergarten pupils, extended school year days, school-sponsored field trips, independent study when a pupil is onsite during the schoolday, and Saturday school sessions.

(Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 38, Sec. 58. (SB 153) Effective June 29, 2024. Section conditionally operative as prescribed by its own provisions.)

49503.
  

School district funds may also be used for the purchase of school meals for pupils, as provided in Sections 49500 and 49501.5.

(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 600, Sec. 7. (SB 348) Effective January 1, 2024.)

49504.
  

Each official and department of the state having charge of the administering of funds for the relief of indigents may contribute and pay any of the funds subject to his disposal to any school district within the state, to be used by the district for the purchase of school meals for needy pupils. Every county, city and county, and city within the state may pay any of its funds available for the relief of indigents to any school district, within or partly within the county, city and county, and city for this purpose.

(Enacted by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1010.)

49505.
  

(a) Any school district or county office of education participating in the National School Lunch Program that provides a meal to a pupil rendered homeless by a state or federally declared disaster may receive reimbursement equal to the combined state and federal free rate, regardless of the pupil’s eligibility for free meals. It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that pupils who are not eligible for free meals be considered for inclusion in the meal program when their families are temporarily unable to provide adequate meals for them due to the effects of a natural disaster. It is the intent of the Legislature that the reimbursement for these children be on a temporary basis.

(b) Any school district or county office of education participating in the National School Lunch Program which is unable to meet the meal component requirement of the state meal program because of a state or federally declared disaster is exempted from serving all required meal components and may be reimbursed at the combined state and federal rates as if the meal component requirements had been met.

(c) The State Department of Education may provide a school district or county office of education participating in the National School Lunch Program which has been temporarily closed as a result of a state or federally declared disaster a reimbursement equal to the average daily participation times the average combined state and federal reimbursement rate received by the entity in the month prior to the closure, times the number of days the entity is closed to pay for salaries and other fixed expenses of child nutrition programs.

(d) The State Department of Education shall make reimbursements pursuant to subdivision (a), (b), or (c) to school districts and county offices of education participating in the National School Lunch Program from money appropriated from the General Fund for that purpose. Requests for those reimbursements shall be subject to the review and approval of the State Department of Education. Any funds provided for the purposes of this section shall be in lieu of state reimbursement for child nutrition programs.

(e) All school districts and county offices of education participating in the National School Lunch Program that apply for exemptions and allowances pursuant to subdivision (c) shall demonstrate conformity with any applicable procedures required in the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, P.L. 93-288, as amended by P.L. 100-707. The State Department of Education shall ensure that applicants for relief under subdivision (c) have followed those procedures.

(f) For purposes of this section, “state or federally declared disaster” means only a state or federally declared disaster that occurs on or after the effective date of this section.

(g) Moneys in the Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account in the Reserve for Economic Uncertainties may be allocated for the purposes of this section.

(Added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 796, Sec. 2. Effective September 13, 1990.)

49506.
  

(a) (1) The department shall work with the State Department of Social Services to maximize participation in the federal Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children (Summer EBT) program established pursuant to the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.

(2) The department shall share all data determined by the departments to be necessary to adhere to the requirements of paragraph (1) and Section 18901.57 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(b) The department shall follow the federal guidelines and regulations established pursuant to Section 502 of Title IV of Division HH of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 to maximize flexibility for local educational agencies to distribute summer meals through noncongregate distributions.

(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 600, Sec. 8. (SB 348) Effective January 1, 2024.)

EDCEducation Code - EDC8.