AB 985

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law requires each school district or county superintendent of schools maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and, commencing with the 2019–20 school year, each charter school, to provide each needy pupil with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday. Existing law authorizes a school district or county office of education, in order to comply with that requirement, to use funds made available through any federal or state program the purpose of which includes the provision of meals to a pupil, including, among other programs, the federal National School Lunch Program, or to provide those meals at the expense of the school district or county office of education. Existing law authorizes a school district, county superintendent of schools, or other public or private entity that participates in programs under the federal National School Lunch Act to, if consistent with federal law, offer whole milk, in addition to other kinds of milk, if federal regulations require a lunch eligible for federal cash reimbursement under the act to contain unflavored, fluid lowfat milk, skim milk, or buttermilk. This bill would authorize a school district, county office of education, or charter school to establish a pilot program at the schoolsite of an elementary school within its jurisdiction for purposes of evaluating the impacts of whole or 2 percent unflavored milk consumption among pupils, as specified, and would authorize a school participating in a pilot program to receive funds from public or private sources to implement the pilot program.