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AN ACT relating to school meals at low-income schools. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 158 IS CREATED TO 3
READ AS FOLLOWS: 4
(1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: 5
(a) "Community eligibility provision" means the school meal reimbursement 6
program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture to 7
reimburse low-income schools for offering free meals to all enrolled 8
students governed by 7 C.F.R. pt. 245; 9
(b) "Identified student percentage" means the percentage of student population 10
used by the United States Department of Agriculture to determine the 11
eligibility and reimbursement rate of a school, group of schools, or school 12
district for the community eligibility provision; and 13
(c) "Paid rate" means the partial reimbursement rate a school participating in 14
the community eligibility provision receives for providing a no-charge 15
school breakfast or lunch that is not eligible for reimbursement at the free 16
rate through the community eligibility provision. 17
(2) There is hereby created a restricted fund to be known as Kentucky Proud School 18
Match Program fund. The fund shall be administered by the Kentucky 19
Department of Education. Moneys in the fund shall be used by the department to 20
reimburse school districts that participate in the Kentucky Proud School Match 21
Program in accordance with subsection (3) of this section. The fund shall contain 22
moneys received from the general fund, federal funds, and any other proceeds 23
from contributions, gifts, or grants made available for the purposes of the fund. 24
Notwithstanding KRS 45.229, any moneys remaining in the fund at the close of 25
the fiscal year shall not lapse but shall be carried forward into the succeeding 26
fiscal year to be used by the department for the purposes set forth in this section. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 156
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(3) The Kentucky Proud School Match Program is hereby established to reduce the 1
financial burden of eligible school districts participating in the community 2
eligibility provision. Subject to the availability of funds, the Kentucky Department 3
of Education shall reimburse an eligible school district thirty-three cents ($0.33) 4
from the Kentucky Proud School Match Program fund for each meal that is: 5
(a) Reimbursed by the United States Department of Agriculture through the 6
community eligibility provision at the paid rate; and 7
(b) Provided by a school participating in the community eligibility provision 8
that qualifies individually, as part of a group of schools, or as part of a 9
district with an identified student percentage of at least forty percent (40%). 10
(4) A school district with at least one (1) school or group of schools participating in 11
the community eligibility provision shall be eligible to participate in the Kentucky 12
Proud School Match Program upon development and implementation of a 13
Kentucky Proud school plan to: 14
(a) Identify and purchase available Kentucky-grown agricultural products that 15
meet the applicable quality standards and pricing requirements of the 16
school district. The plan may prioritize the purchase of Kentucky Proud 17
agricultural products; and 18
(b) Optimize food usage in the district's school nutrition programs in order to 19
reduce food waste in the district. Districts are encouraged to incorporate the 20
use of a share table program in the Kentucky Proud school plan. 21
(5) The Kentucky Board of Education shall promulgate administrative regulations in 22
accordance with KRS Chapter 13A necessary to carry out this section, including 23
an application form for the Kentucky Proud School Match Program, a sample 24
Kentucky Proud school plan, and method of data collection to measure the 25
impact of the Kentucky Proud School Match Program. 26
(6) In the event that the United States Department of Agriculture terminates the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 156
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community eligibility provision, the provisions of this section shall be considered 1
null and void. 2
Section 2. This Act may be cited as the Kentucky Proud School Match Act. 3