§ 915-A — Universal free school meals

§ 915-a. Universal free school meals. 1. The department shall require\nall school districts, charter schools and non-public schools in the\nstate that participate in the national school lunch program or school\nbreakfast program as provided in the Richard B. Russell National School\nLunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act, as amended, to serve breakfast\nand lunch at no cost to the student. School districts, charter schools\nand non-public schools shall maximize federal reimbursement for school\nbreakfast and lunch programs by adopting Provision 2, the federal\nCommunity Eligibility Provision, or any other provision under such Act,\nthe National School Lunch Act or the National Child Nutrition Act that,\nin the opinion of the department, maximizes federal funding for meals\nserved in such programs. Provided that school food authorities that do\nnot qualify as a single entity to participate in the community\neligibility provision shall be required to group schools within the\nschool food authority, to the extent possible, for purposes of\nmaximizing participation in the community eligibility provision, and\nprovided further that school food authorities shall reapply annually for\nthe community eligibility provision program in the event that doing so\nwould result in a higher percentage of meals being reimbursed at the\nfederal reimbursement rate for a free meal.\n 2. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation to the\ncontrary, for the two thousand twenty-five--two thousand twenty-six\nschool year and each school year thereafter, for each breakfast and\nlunch meal served, the department shall reimburse the school food\nauthority the difference between (a) the combined state and federal\nreimbursement rate for a reduced-price or paid meal, respectively, for\nthe current school year and (b) the combined state and federal\nreimbursement rate for a free meal for the current school year, provided\nthat the total reimbursement rate for each meal served shall equal the\ncombined state and federal reimbursement rate for a free meal for the\ncurrent school year.\n 3. The department, in consultation with the office of temporary and\ndisability assistance, shall promulgate any rule or regulation needed\nfor school districts, charter schools and non-public schools to promote\nthe supplemental nutrition assistance program to a student or person in\nparental relation to a student by providing either application\nassistance or a direct referral to an outreach partner identified to the\ndepartment by the office of temporary and disability assistance to\nmaximize the number of students directly certified for free school\nmeals.\n 4. In addition to fulfilling any other applicable state and federal\nrequirements, the department shall provide technical assistance to\nassist school districts, charter schools, and non-public schools in the\ntransition to universal school meals to ensure successful program\noperations and to maximize federal funding, including but not limited to\nthe following:\n (a) Assisting school food authorities with one or more schools\nqualifying for the community eligibility provision in meeting any state\nand federal requirements necessary in order to maximize reimbursement\nthrough the community eligibility provision, including assisting such\nschool food authorities in maximizing participation in the community\neligibility provision.\n (b) If a school food authority is ineligible to participate in and\nreceive reimbursement through the community eligibility provision,\nassisting the school food authority in achieving and maximizing\neligibility and, if that is not feasible, assisting the school food\nauthority in determining the viability of using Provision 2 or other\nspecial federal provisions available to schools to maximize federal\nreimbursement.\n 5. School districts, charter schools, and non-public schools shall\nmaximize the number of students eligible for free meals by conducting\nthe Direct Certification Matching Process at a minimum of three times\nper year, designating children as "Other Source Categorically Eligible",\nas defined by federal regulations, or, for schools not participating in\nthe Community Eligibility Provision or Provision 2, by annually\ncollecting the free and reduced-price meal application.\n