115.34 School lunch program.

(1) The department may contract for the operation and maintenance of school lunch programs and for the distribution, transportation, warehousing, processing and insuring of food products provided by the federal government. The form and specifications of such contracts shall be determined by the department. Amounts remaining unpaid for 60 days or more after they become payable under the terms of such contracts shall be deemed past due and shall be certified to the department of administration on October 1 of each year and included in the next apportionment of state special charges to local units of government as special charges against the school districts and municipalities charged therewith.

(2) The state superintendent shall make payments to school districts, private schools, charter schools under s. 118.40 (2r) and (2x), tribal schools, the program under s. 115.52, and the center under s. 115.525 for school lunches served to children in the prior year as determined by the state superintendent from the appropriation under s. 20.255 (2) (cn). Payments shall equal the state's matching obligation under 42 USC 1751 et seq. Payments in the current year shall be determined by prorating the state's matching obligation based on the number of school lunches served to children in the prior year. In this subsection, “private school" means any school defined in s. 115.001 (3r) which complies with the requirements of 42 USC 2000d.

History: 1971 c. 125, 215; 1975 c. 39, 224; 1977 c. 29; 1979 c. 221 ss. 584m, 2200 (43); 1983 a. 27; 1983 a. 189 s. 329 (17m); 1983 a. 512 s. 8; 1995 a. 27 s. 9145 (1); 1997 a. 27; 2005 a. 25; 2009 a. 302; 2015 a. 55.

The United States and Wisconsin constitutions do not prohibit the state from disbursing state matching funds under the National School Lunch Act to private as well as public schools. 69 Atty. Gen. 109.