(a) Any school district or county office of education participating in the National School Lunch Program that provides a meal to a pupil rendered homeless by a state or federally declared disaster may receive reimbursement equal to the combined state and federal free rate, regardless of the pupil’s eligibility for free meals. It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that pupils who are not eligible for free meals be considered for inclusion in the meal program when their families are temporarily unable to provide adequate meals for them due to the effects of a natural disaster. It is the intent of the Legislature that the reimbursement for these children be on a temporary basis.

(b) Any school district or county office of education participating in the National School Lunch Program which is unable to meet the meal component requirement of the state meal program because of a state or federally declared disaster is exempted from serving all required meal components and may be reimbursed at the combined state and federal rates as if the meal component requirements had been met.

(c) The State Department of Education may provide a school district or county office of education participating in the National School Lunch Program which has been temporarily closed as a result of a state or federally declared disaster a reimbursement equal to the average daily participation times the average combined state and federal reimbursement rate received by the entity in the month prior to the closure, times the number of days the entity is closed to pay for salaries and other fixed expenses of child nutrition programs.

(d) The State Department of Education shall make reimbursements pursuant to subdivision (a), (b), or (c) to school districts and county offices of education participating in the National School Lunch Program from money appropriated from the General Fund for that purpose. Requests for those reimbursements shall be subject to the review and approval of the State Department of Education. Any funds provided for the purposes of this section shall be in lieu of state reimbursement for child nutrition programs.

(e) All school districts and county offices of education participating in the National School Lunch Program that apply for exemptions and allowances pursuant to subdivision (c) shall demonstrate conformity with any applicable procedures required in the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, P.L. 93-288, as amended by P.L. 100-707. The State Department of Education shall ensure that applicants for relief under subdivision (c) have followed those procedures.

(f) For purposes of this section, “state or federally declared disaster” means only a state or federally declared disaster that occurs on or after the effective date of this section.

(g) Moneys in the Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account in the Reserve for Economic Uncertainties may be allocated for the purposes of this section.

(Added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 796, Sec. 2. Effective September 13, 1990.)