A. School districts and charter schools shall establish a "breakfast after the bell program" to provide free breakfast, after the instructional day has begun, to all students attending a public school in which eighty-five percent or more of the enrolled students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch under the National School Lunch Act during the prior school year.

B. A school district or charter school that includes a public school in which fewer than eighty-five percent of the enrolled students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch during the prior school year under the National School Lunch Act may establish a breakfast after the bell program to provide free breakfast, after the instructional day has begun, to all students attending that public school; provided that the program complies with all applicable department rules relating to the breakfast after the bell program authorized by this section.

C. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to prohibit a school that establishes a breakfast after the bell program under the provisions of Subsection A or B of this section from beginning breakfast service before the start of the instructional day; provided that the school also serves breakfast after the beginning of the instructional day in the location of its choice, including the cafeteria, classroom, on the bus, or by providing a hand-carried breakfast.

D. The school district or charter school may apply to the department for a waiver of the breakfast after the bell program required under the provisions of Subsection A of this section if the school district or charter school can demonstrate that providing the program will result in undue financial hardship for the school district or charter school.

E. The department shall award funding to each school district or charter school that establishes a breakfast after the bell program under the provisions of this section for providing free breakfast to students on a per-meal basis at the federal maximum rate of reimbursement as set forth annually by the federal secretary of agriculture for educational grants awarded under the authority of the secretary. School districts and charter schools do not need to demonstrate their expenses to receive funding pursuant to this section.

F. Disbursements for the breakfast after the bell program shall be paid in sequential order, until the state breakfast after the bell funds are exhausted. School districts and charter schools whose public schools have the highest percentage of enrolled students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch under the National School Lunch Act shall be paid first. School districts and charter schools whose public schools have the lowest percentage of enrolled students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch under the National School Lunch Act shall be paid last.

G. By June 15 of each year, each school district and charter school seeking state breakfast after the bell funds shall submit to the department the following information:

(1) the number of breakfasts served at no charge by each of its public schools during the previous school year; and

(2) the federal reimbursement rate for each breakfast served.

H. When calculating the amount of breakfast after the bell program funding that is due a public school, the department shall assume that student participation will remain at the same level as the previous year. If a school district or charter school has not previously received state breakfast after the bell funding, the department shall assume that ninety percent of the student population of an eligible public school will participate in the breakfast after the bell program and shall fund the public school's program accordingly.

I. By August 1 of each year, the department shall inform eligible school districts and charter schools of the amount of breakfast after the bell funding they will receive during the upcoming school year.

J. The department shall promulgate rules necessary for implementation of this section, including:

(1) standards for breakfast after the bell programs that meet federal school breakfast program standards;

(2) procedures for waiver requests and the award of waivers as provided for in Subsection D of this section, including what constitutes financial hardship; and

(3) procedures for funding school districts and charter schools.

K. The provisions of this section apply to the 2014-2015 and succeeding school years; provided, however, that the breakfast after the bell program for middle and high school students shall begin the first school year after the legislature provides funding for that portion of the program.

History: Laws 2011, ch. 35, § 5; 2014, ch. 16, § 1; 2016, ch. 26, § 1.

Cross references. — For the National School Lunch Act, see 42 U.S. Code § 1751.

The 2016 amendment, effective May 18, 2016, clarified provisions of the "breakfast after the bell program"; added new Subsection C and redesignated the succeeding subsections accordingly; in Subsection J, in Paragraph (2), after "Subsection", deleted "C" and added "D"; and in Subsection K, after "breakfast after the bell", added "program".

The 2014 amendment, effective May 21, 2014, provided for breakfast after the bell programs for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade; in Subsection A, after "charter schools shall establish a", deleted "school", after "establish a 'breakfast", added "after the bell", after "after the bell program'", changed "providing" to "to provide", after "all students attending", deleted "an elementary" and added "a public", after "a public school", deleted "in that school district", and after "more of the enrolled students", deleted "at the elementary school"; in Subsection B, after "charter school that includes", deleted "an elementary" and added "a public", after "National School Lunch Act", deleted "of 1946", after "may establish a", deleted "school", after "may establish a breakfast", added "after the bell", after "after the bell program", deleted "providing" and added "to provide", after "students attending that", deleted "elementary" and added "public", after "rules relating to the", deleted "school", and after "relating to the breakfast", added "after the bell"; in Subsection C, after "waiver of the", deleted "school", and after "waiver of the breakfast", added "after the bell"; in Subsection D, in the first sentence, after "The department shall", deleted "reimburse" and added "award funding to", after "charter school that establishes a", deleted "school", after "establishes a breakfast", added "after the bell", after "provisions of this section for", deleted "costs associated with", at the end of the first sentence, deletes "Reimbursement", and added the second sentence; in Subsection E, in the first sentence, added the subsection letter and "Disbursements", after "Disbursements for the", deleted "school", after "Disbursements for the breakfast", added "after the bell", after "until the state", deleted "school", and after "until the state breakfast", added "after the bell", in the second sentence, after "School districts", deleted "or" and added "and", after "charter schools whose", deleted "elementary" and added "public", and after "National School Lunch Act", deleted "of 1946", and in the third sentence, after "School districts", deleted "or" and added "and", after "charter schools whose", deleted "elementary" and added "public", and after "National School Lunch Act", deleted "of 1946"; added Subsections F, G and H; in Subsection I, in Paragraph (1), after "standards for", deleted "school" and after "standards for breakfast", added "after the bell"; in Subsection I, in Paragraph (3), after "procedures for", deleted "reimbursement" and added the remainder of the sentence; and in Subsection J, after "this section", deleted "shall not", after "this section apply", deleted "until the 2011-2012" and added "to the 2014-2015 and succeeding", and after "school", deleted "year" and added the remainder of the sentence.