HF 18

as introduced - 91st Legislature, 2020 1st Special Session (2019 - 2020) Posted on 06/17/2020 12:22pm

A bill for an act
relating to education; modifying school meal provisions; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2018, section 124D.111.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 124D.111, is amended to read:

124D.111 new text begin SCHOOL MEAL POLICY; new text end LUNCH AID; FOOD SERVICE
ACCOUNTING.

Subdivision 1.

School deleted text begin lunch aid computation deleted text end new text begin meal policy new text end .

new text begin (a) Each Minnesota
participant in the national school lunch program must adopt and post to its website, or the
website of the organization where the meal is served, a school meal policy. The policy must:
new text end

new text begin (1) be in writing, accessible in multiple languages, and clearly communicate student
meal charges when payment cannot be collected at the point of service;
new text end

new text begin (2) be reasonable and well-defined and maintain the dignity of students by prohibiting
lunch shaming or otherwise ostracizing any student;
new text end

new text begin (3) address whether the participant uses a collection agency to collect unpaid school
meal debt;
new text end

new text begin (4) require any communication to collect unpaid school meal debt be done by school
staff trained on the school district's policy on collecting student meal debt;
new text end

new text begin (5) require that all communication relating to school meal debt be delivered only to a
student's parent or guardian and not directly to the student;
new text end

new text begin (6) ensure that once a participant has placed a meal on a tray or otherwise served the
meal to a student, the meal may not be subsequently withdrawn from the student by the
cashier or other school official because the student has outstanding meal debt;
new text end

new text begin (7) ensure that a student who has been determined eligible for free or reduced-price
lunch must always be served a reimbursable meal even if the student has outstanding debt;
new text end

new text begin (8) provide the vendor with its school meal policy if the school contracts with a third
party for its meal services; and
new text end

new text begin (9) require school nutrition staff be trained on the policy.
new text end

new text begin (b) Any contract between a school and a third-party provider of meal services entered
into or modified on or after July 1, 2020, must ensure that the third-party provider adheres
to the participant's school meal policy.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 1a. new text end

new text begin School lunch aid amounts. new text end

Each school year, the state must pay participants
in the national school lunch program the amount of 12.5 cents for each full paid and free
student lunch and 52.5 cents for each reduced-price lunch served to students.

Subd. 2.

Application.

A school district, charter school, nonpublic school, or other
participant in the national school lunch program shall apply to the department for this
payment on forms provided by the department.

Subd. 2a.

Federal child and adult care food program; criteria and notice.

The
commissioner must post on the department's website eligibility criteria and application
information for nonprofit organizations interested in applying to the commissioner for
approval as a multisite sponsoring organization under the federal child and adult care food
program. The posted criteria and information must inform interested nonprofit organizations
about:

(1) the criteria the commissioner uses to approve or disapprove an application, including
how an applicant demonstrates financial viability for the Minnesota program, among other
criteria;

(2) the commissioner's process and time line for notifying an applicant when its
application is approved or disapproved and, if the application is disapproved, the explanation
the commissioner provides to the applicant; and

(3) any appeal or other recourse available to a disapproved applicant.

Subd. 3.

School food service fund.

(a) The expenses described in this subdivision must
be recorded as provided in this subdivision.

(b) In each district, the expenses for a school food service program for pupils must be
attributed to a school food service fund. Under a food service program, the school food
service may prepare or serve milk, meals, or snacks in connection with school or community
service activities.

(c) Revenues and expenditures for food service activities must be recorded in the food
service fund. The costs of processing applications, accounting for meals, preparing and
serving food, providing kitchen custodial services, and other expenses involving the preparing
of meals or the kitchen section of the lunchroom may be charged to the food service fund
or to the general fund of the district. The costs of lunchroom supervision, lunchroom custodial
services, lunchroom utilities, and other administrative costs of the food service program
must be charged to the general fund.

That portion of superintendent and fiscal manager costs that can be documented as
attributable to the food service program may be charged to the food service fund provided
that the school district does not employ or contract with a food service director or other
individual who manages the food service program, or food service management company.
If the cost of the superintendent or fiscal manager is charged to the food service fund, the
charge must be at a wage rate not to exceed the statewide average for food service directors
as determined by the department.

(d) Capital expenditures for the purchase of food service equipment must be made from
the general fund and not the food service fund, unless the restricted balance in the food
service fund at the end of the last fiscal year is greater than the cost of the equipment to be
purchased.

(e) If the condition set out in paragraph (d) applies, the equipment may be purchased
from the food service fund.

(f) If a deficit in the food service fund exists at the end of a fiscal year, and the deficit
is not eliminated by revenues from food service operations in the next fiscal year, then the
deficit must be eliminated by a permanent fund transfer from the general fund at the end of
that second fiscal year. However, if a district contracts with a food service management
company during the period in which the deficit has accrued, the deficit must be eliminated
by a payment from the food service management company.

(g) Notwithstanding paragraph (f), a district may incur a deficit in the food service fund
for up to three years without making the permanent transfer if the district submits to the
commissioner by January 1 of the second fiscal year a plan for eliminating that deficit at
the end of the third fiscal year.

(h) If a surplus in the food service fund exists at the end of a fiscal year for three
successive years, a district may recode for that fiscal year the costs of lunchroom supervision,
lunchroom custodial services, lunchroom utilities, and other administrative costs of the food
service program charged to the general fund according to paragraph (c) and charge those
costs to the food service fund in a total amount not to exceed the amount of surplus in the
food service fund.

Subd. 4.

No fees.

A participant that receives school lunch aid under this section must
make lunch available without charge new text begin and must not deny a school lunch new text end to all participating
students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals new text begin , whether or not that student has an
outstanding balance in the student's meal account attributable to a la carte purchases or for
any other reason new text end .

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Respectful treatment. new text end

new text begin (a) new text end The participant must also new text begin provide meals to students
in a respectful manner according to the policy adopted under subdivision 1. The participant
must new text end ensure that any reminders for payment of outstanding student meal deleted text begin balances deleted text end new text begin debt new text end do
not new text begin intentionally new text end demean deleted text begin or deleted text end new text begin , new text end stigmatize new text begin , or humiliate new text end any child participating in the school
lunch program. new text begin The participant must not impose any other restriction prohibited under
section 123B.37 due to unpaid student meal debt. The participant must not limit a student's
participation in any school activities, graduation ceremonies, field trips, athletics, activity
clubs, or other extracurricular activities or access to materials, technology, or other items
provided to students due to an unpaid student meal debt.
new text end

new text begin (b) If the commissioner or the commissioner's designee determines a participant has
violated the requirement to provide meals to participating students in a respectful manner,
the commissioner or the commissioner's designee must send a letter of noncompliance to
the participant. The participant is required to respond and, if applicable, remedy the practice
within 60 days.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) For the purposes of this section, the terms defined in this
subdivision have the meanings given.
new text end

new text begin (b) "A la carte" means a food item ordered separately from the school meal.
new text end

new text begin (c) "School meal" means a meal provided to students during the school day.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2020.
new text end