Florida 2024 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0477 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	HB 477 2024
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
8	8	hb0477-00
9	9	Page 1 of 7
10	10	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
11	11
12	12
13	13
14	14	A bill to be entitled 1
15	15	An act relating to a universal free school breakfast 2
16	16	and lunch program; amending s. 595.402, F.S.; defining 3
17	17	and redefining terms; amending s. 595.405, F.S.; 4
18	18	requiring the Department of Agriculture and Consumer 5
19	19	Services, subject to the appropriation of funds by the 6
20	20	Legislature, to establish and operate a program to 7
21	21	provide universal free school breakfast and lunch 8
22	22	meals to all public school students; specifying 9
23	23	requirements for school districts; deleting provisions 10
24	24	requiring school districts to implement and charge 11
25	25	students for a breakfast program; deleting provisions 12
26	26	requiring only certain school districts to implement a 13
27	27	universal free school breakfast program and 14
28	28	encouraging districts to provide free breakfast meals; 15
29	29	revising the information that school districts are 16
30	30	required to provide to parents regarding the 17
31	31	availability of certain school meals, to conform to 18
32	32	changes made by the act; authorizing school distr icts 19
33	33	to operate free school meal programs using offsite 20
34	34	food preparation locations; amending s. 595.404, F.S.; 21
35	35	conforming a cross-reference; providing an effective 22
36	36	date. 23
37	37	24
38	38	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 25
39	39
40	40	HB 477 2024
41	41
42	42
43	43
44	44	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
45	45	hb0477-00
46	46	Page 2 of 7
47	47	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
48	48
49	49
50	50
51	51	26
52	52	Section 1. Section 595.402, Florida Statutes, is amended 27
53	53	to read: 28
54	54	595.402 Definitions. —As used in this chapter, the term: 29
55	55	(1) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture. 30
56	56	(2) "Community eligibility provision" means the federal 31
57	57	program created in 42 U.S.C. s. 1759a(a)(1)(F) which allows a 32
58	58	school district to choose to receive federal special assistance 33
59	59	payments for school meals in exchange for providing free school 34
60	60	meals to all students enrolled in all or selected schools of the 35
61	61	school district, if such agencies comply with specified 36
62	62	requirements. 37
63	63	(3) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture and 38
64	64	Consumer Services. 39
65	65	(4) "Eligible breakfast and lunch meals" means meals 40
66	66	served at breakfast and lunch which meet the nutritional 41
67	67	requirements specified in the National School Breakfast Program 42
68	68	and 7 C.F.R. s. 210.10, respectively. 43
69	69	(5) "National School Breakfast Program" means the federal 44
70	70	school breakfast program created in 42 U.S.C. s. 1773, which is 45
71	71	administered by the department. 46
72	72	(6) "National School Lunc h Program" means the federal 47
73	73	school lunch program created in the Richard B. Russell National 48
74	74	School Lunch Act. 49
75	75	(7)(3) "Program" means any one or more of the school food 50
76	76
77	77	HB 477 2024
78	78
79	79
80	80
81	81	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
82	82	hb0477-00
83	83	Page 3 of 7
84	84	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
85	85
86	86
87	87
88	88	and nutrition service programs that the department has 51
89	89	responsibility over including, but not limited to, the National 52
90	90	School Lunch Program, the Special Milk Program, the National 53
91	91	School Breakfast Program, the Summer Food Service Program, the 54
92	92	Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, and any other program that 55
93	93	relates to school nutrition. 56
94	94	(4) "School breakfast program" means a program authorized 57
95	95	by s. 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended, and 58
96	96	administered by the department. 59
97	97	(8)(5) "School district" means any of the 67 county school 60
98	98	districts, including the respective district schoo l board. 61
99	99	(9) "Special assistance alternative" means a special 62
100	100	nutrition assistance alternative federal reimbursement method 63
101	101	authorized by the United States Department of Agriculture 64
102	102	pursuant to 42 U.S.C. s. 1759a and 7 C.F.R. part 245, for 65
103	103	eligible schools that serve free meals to all enrolled students. 66
104	104	The term includes the community eligibility provision. 67
105	105	(10)(6) "Sponsor" means any entity that is conducting a 68
106	106	program under a current agreement with the department. 69
107	107	(11)(7) "Summer nutrition program" means one or more of 70
108	108	the programs authorized under 42 U.S.C. s. 1761. 71
109	109	(12)(8) "Universal school breakfast and lunch program" 72
110	110	means a program that makes breakfast and lunch available at no 73
111	111	cost to all students regardless of th eir household income. 74
112	112	Section 2. Section 595.405, Florida Statutes, is amended 75
113	113
114	114	HB 477 2024
115	115
116	116
117	117
118	118	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
119	119	hb0477-00
120	120	Page 4 of 7
121	121	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
122	122
123	123
124	124
125	125	to read: 76
126	126	595.405 Universal free school breakfast and lunch program 77
127	127	School nutrition program requirements .— 78
128	128	(1) Each district school board shall consider the 79
129	129	recommendations of the district school superintendent and adopt 80
130	130	policies to provide for an appropriate food and nutrition 81
131	131	program for students consistent with federal law , this section, 82
132	132	and department rule rules. 83
133	133	(2) Subject to the appropriation of funds by the 84
134	134	Legislature for that purpose, the department shall establish and 85
135	135	operate a universal school breakfast and lunch program for all 86
136	136	public school students in grades K -12. Each district school 87
137	137	board shall implement a universal school breakfast and lunch 88
138	138	program that offers eligible breakfast and lunch meals, free of 89
139	139	charge, school breakfast programs that make breakfast meals 90
140	140	available to all students in each school that serves any 91
141	141	combination of grades K-12. In implementing the universal school 92
142	142	breakfast and lunch p rogram, each school district shall do all 93
143	143	of the following: 94
144	144	(a) Participate in the National School Breakfast Program 95
145	145	and the National School Lunch Program. 96
146	146	(b) Provide reimbursable eligible breakfast and lunch 97
147	147	meals at no cost to all public school stud ents in grades K-12 98
148	148	within any school breakfast program or school lunch program 99
149	149	operated by the school district. 100
150	150
151	151	HB 477 2024
152	152
153	153
154	154
155	155	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
156	156	hb0477-00
157	157	Page 5 of 7
158	158	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
159	159
160	160
161	161
162	162	(c) Submit to the department, in a manner determined by 101
163	163	the department, information regarding the number of reimbursable 102
164	164	breakfast and lunch meals that each school within the district 103
165	165	served to students. 104
166	166	(d) Maximize access to federal funds for the cost of the 105
167	167	National School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch 106
168	168	Program by participating in the community eligibility provision 107
169	169	or another special assistance alternative, if eligible, and 108
170	170	operate the National School Breakfast Program and the National 109
171	171	School Lunch Program in a way that the department determines 110
172	172	draws down the greatest possible federal funding for eligible 111
173	173	breakfast and lunch meals served in the National School 112
174	174	Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch Program 113
175	175	kindergarten through 5 . 114
176	176	(3) Each district school board must annually set prices 115
177	177	for breakfast meals at rates that, combined with federal 116
178	178	reimbursements and state allocations, are sufficient to defray 117
179	179	costs of school breakfast programs without requiring allocations 118
180	180	from the district's operating funds, except if the district 119
181	181	school board approves lower rates. 120
182	182	(4) To increase student participation in the universal 121
183	183	school breakfast and lunch program, each school district 122
184	184	operating a breakfast program shall: 123
185	185	(a) Make a breakfast meal available to if a student who 124
186	186	arrives at school on the school bus less than 15 minutes before 125
187	187
188	188	HB 477 2024
189	189
190	190
191	191
192	192	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
193	193	hb0477-00
194	194	Page 6 of 7
195	195	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
196	196
197	197
198	198
199	199	the first bell rings and shall allow the student at least 15 126
200	200	minutes to eat the breakfast. 127
201	201	(5) Each district school board is encouraged to provide 128
202	202	universal, free school breakfast meals to all students in each 129
203	203	elementary, middle, and high school. A universal school 130
204	204	breakfast program shall be implemented in each school in which 131
205	205	80 percent or more of the students are eligible for free or 132
206	206	reduced-price meals, unless the district school board, after 133
207	207	considering public testimony at two or more regularly scheduled 134
208	208	board meetings, decides no t to implement such a program in such 135
209	209	schools. 136
210	210	(b)(6) To increase school breakfast and universal school 137
211	211	breakfast program participation, each district school board 138
212	212	must, To the maximum extent practicable, make breakfast meals 139
213	213	available to students throug h alternative service models as 140
214	214	described in publications of the Food and Nutrition Service of 141
215	215	the United States Department of Agriculture for the federal 142
216	216	School Breakfast Program. 143
217	217	(4)(7) Each district school board shall annually provide 144
218	218	to all parents through school announcements and notices 145
219	219	information prepared by the district's food service 146
220	220	administration regarding the availability of free available 147
221	221	school meals breakfast programs. The information shall be 148
222	222	communicated through school announcements and notices sent to 149
223	223	all parents. 150
224	224
225	225	HB 477 2024
226	226
227	227
228	228
229	229	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
230	230	hb0477-00
231	231	Page 7 of 7
232	232	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
233	233
234	234
235	235
236	236	(5)(8) A district school board may operate its free school 151
237	237	meal a breakfast program providing for food preparation at the 152
238	238	school site or in central locations with distribution to 153
239	239	designated satellite schools, or any combinati on thereof. 154
240	240	Section 3. Subsection (14) of section 595.404, Florida 155
241	241	Statutes, is amended to read: 156
242	242	595.404 School food and other nutrition programs; powers 157
243	243	and duties of the department. —The department has the following 158
244	244	powers and duties: 159
245	245	(14) To collect data on food purchased through the 160
246	246	programs defined and described in ss. 595.402(7) ss. 595.402(3) 161
247	247	and 595.406 and to publish that data annually. 162
248	248	Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 163