(a) Each school district or county office of education, at its option, may enter into a memorandum of understanding with the local agency that determines CalFresh program eligibility, or its designee, to share information provided on the School Lunch Program application with that agency, if the child is approved for free meals or, if included in the memorandum of understanding, reduced-price meals, and if the applicant consents to the sharing of that information. The information may be shared electronically, physically, or through whatever method is determined appropriate. Any memorandum of understanding entered into pursuant to this section shall set forth the roles and responsibilities of the school district or county office of education and the local agency, and the process to be used in sharing the information.

(b) The local agency that determines CalFresh program eligibility shall use information provided on a School Lunch Program application only for purposes directly related to the enrollment of families in the CalFresh program.

(c) The School Lunch Program application is confidential, and, with the exception of forwarding the information on the application for use in CalFresh program enrollment consistent with Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 18900) of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code upon the consent of the pupil’s parent or guardian, the school district, county superintendent of schools, or CalFresh program administrators shall not share the information with any other governmental agency, including the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Social Security Administration, or use the information for any purpose other than enrollment in the CalFresh program.

(d) After a school district or county office of education shares information provided on a School Lunch Program application with the local agency that determines CalFresh program eligibility, or its designee, for the purpose of determining the applicant’s eligibility for the CalFresh program, the school district or county office of education and the local agency, or its designee, shall not share information about the applicant or his or her household with each other, or any other entity, unless specifically authorized to do so pursuant to other provisions of law.

(Added by Stats. 2011, Ch. 504, Sec. 1. (AB 402) Effective January 1, 2012.)