New Jersey-2022-S1343-Introduced

An Act concerning the implementation of school breakfast programs and supplementing chapter 33 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2 of P.L.2003, c.4 (C.18A:33-10) to the contrary, following the enactment of this act, a public school operated by a local or regional school district of the State in which five percent or more of the students enrolled in the school on or before the last school day before October 16 of the preceding school year were eligible for free or reduced price meals under the federal School Lunch Program or the federal School Breakfast Program, shall establish a school breakfast program in the school.

(2) The school district shall submit a plan for the establishment of school breakfast programs for each school in the district for the initial year, subject to the requirements of this section, that is in compliance with and pursuant to the School Breakfast Program administered by the State Department of Agriculture. The plan for each school shall be submitted to the Department of Agriculture by the date required by subsection b. of this section, in a form and manner prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture.

b. (1) A school district shall submit a plan for all grades of each school that has one or more of the grades pre-K through sixth grade and for which a plan is required by subsection a. of this section on or before November 1, 2022.

(2) A school district shall submit a plan for all grades of each school that is not described in paragraph (1) of this subsection and for which a plan is required by subsection a. of this section on or before November 1, 2023.

c. The Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Education, shall review each school breakfast plan submitted pursuant to this section and make recommendations, if necessary, on how the school breakfast program can operate within the limits of the federal and State reimbursement rates for the federal School Breakfast Program.

d. The Department of Agriculture shall notify each school district that submits a school breakfast plan pursuant to this section of the completion of the department's review and any recommended changes to the plan, within three months after receipt of the plan, but no later than the February 1 following the date required for submission of the plan pursuant to subsection b. of this section.

e. A school district subject to the requirements of this section shall establish a school breakfast program in each of its schools, based on the plan submitted by the school district to the Department of Agriculture, by September 1, 2023 for schools for which plans are required to be submitted by paragraph (1) of subsection b. of this section, and by September 1, 2024 for schools for which plans are required to be submitted by paragraph (2) of subsection b. of this section.

f. (1) If a school district does not submit a school breakfast plan to the Department of Agriculture pursuant to subsection a. of this section by the date required by subsection b. of this section, it shall establish a school breakfast program, in each of its schools in which a program is required pursuant to subsection a. of this section, based on a model plan provided by the department.

(2) The model plan shall include recommendations on how the school breakfast program can operate within the limits of the federal and State reimbursement rates for the federal School Breakfast Program.

(3) The Department of Agriculture shall provide the model plan to the school district by March 1, 2023 for schools for which plans are required to be submitted by paragraph (1) of subsection b. of this section, and by March 1, 2024 for schools for which plans are required to be submitted by paragraph (2) of subsection b. of this section, and the school district shall establish the school breakfast program in each of its schools, based on the model plan, by September 1, 2023 for schools for which plans are required to be submitted by paragraph (1) of subsection b. of this section, and by September 1, 2024 for schools for which plans are required to be submitted by paragraph (2) of subsection b. of this section.

2. The implementation of a school breakfast program under this act shall be subject to the requirements of section 3 of P.L.2003, c.4 (C.18A:33-11).

3. a. The Department of Agriculture may grant a one-year waiver of the requirements of this act to a school in a school district subject to the requirements of this act that lacks the staff, facilities, or equipment to offer a school breakfast program, or that lacks the means to finance the hiring or acquisition of such staff, facilities or equipment, if the district submits a school breakfast plan to the department pursuant to the requirements of section 1 of this act and requests a waiver for the specific school.

b. A school district that requests a waiver pursuant to this section shall provide such information as the Department of Agriculture shall specify pursuant to regulation to justify the request. The information shall include, but not be limited to, a description of the specific impediments to implementing the program, the specific actions that will be taken to remove those impediments, and the specific steps required to successfully implement the program in the following school year.

4. The Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Education, shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), which are necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.

5. The State shall appropriate to the Department of Agriculture, in each fiscal year, the funds necessary to provide the State share for school breakfast programs established under the provisions of this act.

6. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill requires a public school operated by a local or regional school district of the State in which five percent or more of the students enrolled in the school on or before the last school day before October 16 of the preceding school year were eligible for free or reduced price meals under the federal School Lunch Program or the federal School Breakfast Program to establish a school breakfast program in the school. Under existing State statutes, a school with five percent or more of such eligible students must have a school lunch program; however a school is only required to have a school breakfast program if it has 20 percent or more of such eligible students.

The new requirements established by the bill are modeled on the State's existing breakfast program planning and implementation requirements. Specifically, the bill would provide for a school breakfast program to be implemented, by September 1, 2023, in covered schools that provide instruction in Kindergarten through sixth grades, and by September 1, 2024, in covered schools that provide instruction in other grades. An initial program plan for each school is to be submitted to the Department of Agriculture for approval. If a school district fails to submit a plan by the date specified in the bill, the school district will be required to establish a school breakfast program, in each covered school, based on a model plan provided by the department. The bill would authorize a school district to seek and obtain, from the Department of Agriculture, a one-year waiver of the bill's requirements in certain cases.

The bill would additionally provide for the State to annually appropriate necessary funds, to the Department of Agriculture, to finance the State's share of costs for the school breakfast programs being established under the bill.