(a) A charter school shall provide each needy pupil, as defined in Section 49552, with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 49553, during each schoolday.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a charter school that offers nonclassroom-based instruction, as defined in Section 47612.5, shall meet the requirements of this section for any eligible 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 operated by the charter school.

(c) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a charter school shall implement this section commencing with the 2019–20 school year.

(2) A charter school that becomes operational on or after July 1, 2019, shall do both of the following:

(A) Implement this section no later than July 1 of the school year after becoming operational.

(B) Provide written notification disclosing the period of time for which the charter school will not implement subdivision (a). The written notice shall be provided at the time of application for enrollment in the charter school to the parent or guardian of each pupil or, if the pupil is a foster child or youth or a homeless child or youth, the pupil’s educational rights holder. The written notice shall be provided in languages other than English, consistent with languages used for the charter school enrollment application.

(d) 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.

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

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 497, Sec. 59. (AB 991) Effective January 1, 2020.)