(1) Each district school board shall consider the recommendations of the district school superintendent and adopt policies to provide for an appropriate food and nutrition program for students consistent with federal law and department rules.

(2) Each district school board shall implement school breakfast programs that make breakfast meals available to all students in each school that serves any combination of grades kindergarten through 5.

(3) Each district school board must annually set prices for breakfast meals at rates that, combined with federal reimbursements and state allocations, are sufficient to defray costs of school breakfast programs without requiring allocations from the district’s operating funds, except if the district school board approves lower rates.

(4) Each school operating a breakfast program shall make a breakfast meal available if a student arrives at school on the school bus less than 15 minutes before the first bell rings and shall allow the student at least 15 minutes to eat the breakfast.

(5) Each district school board is encouraged to provide universal, free school breakfast meals to all students in each elementary, middle, and high school. A universal school breakfast program shall be implemented in each school in which 80 percent or more of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, unless the district school board, after considering public testimony at two or more regularly scheduled board meetings, decides not to implement such a program in such schools.

(6) To increase school breakfast and universal school breakfast program participation, each district school board must, to the maximum extent practicable, make breakfast meals available to students through alternative service models as described in publications of the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture for the federal School Breakfast Program.

(7) Each district school board shall annually provide information prepared by the district’s food service administration regarding available school breakfast programs. The information shall be communicated through school announcements and notices sent to all parents.

(8) A district school board may operate a breakfast program providing for food preparation at the school site or in central locations with distribution to designated satellite schools, or any combination thereof.

History.—s. 271, ch. 2002-387; s. 1, ch. 2008-190; s. 16, ch. 2009-59; s. 5, ch. 2011-217; s. 32, ch. 2013-226; s. 37, ch. 2016-61.

Note.—Former s. 1006.06; s. 570.981(1)-(5).