81R1811 BEF-D
By: Rodriguez H.B. No. 275
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to methods to increase the number of students who
participate in school breakfast programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 12, Agriculture Code, is amended by
adding Sections 12.044 and 12.045 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.044. SCHOOL BREAKFAST PARTICIPATION INITIATIVES.
(a) In this section, "breakfast program" means the national school
breakfast program provided for by the Child Nutrition Act of 1966
(42 U.S.C. Section 1773).
(b) Each school district shall instruct its school health
advisory council to study and recommend to the district methods to
increase participation in the breakfast program. The school health
advisory council shall consider the likely benefit of a program to
educate parents on the importance to their children's health of a
regular eating schedule that includes breakfast.
(c) The department shall:
(1) encourage each school in which 60 percent or more
of the students qualify for free or reduced-price breakfast to
offer a free breakfast to all students in the school regardless of
family income; and
(2) encourage schools to investigate alternative
methods of serving breakfast, including serving breakfast after the
school day has begun.
Sec. 12.045. SCHOOL BREAKFAST PARTICIPATION EXPANSION
GRANTS. (a) In this section, "Provision 2" means the method of
certifying children for free or reduced-price meals under 7 C.F.R.
Section 245.9(b).
(b) The department by rule shall establish a competitive
grant program through which the department will award grants for
the implementation of school breakfast participation expansion
programs. The department shall determine the grant period and the
renewal procedures, if applicable.
(c) Grant proceeds may be used to fund expenses associated
with a school breakfast participation expansion program,
including:
(1) labor and training costs associated with
incorporating breakfast into the regular school day;
(2) the purchase price of insulated containers and
other equipment used to serve breakfast after the regular school
day has begun;
(3) costs associated with an outreach program to
publicize to parents the school breakfast expansion program; and
(4) incentive payments to school principals who meet
goals for increased school breakfast participation.
(d) Grants under this section may be funded by gift or
legislative appropriation. The department may receive gifts,
donations, and grants of money to assist in financing the
competitive grant program.
(e) An applicant for a grant under this section must be a
school district. The applicant may apply for a grant to fund a
school breakfast expansion program:
(1) for the entire district if the district meets the
eligibility requirements under Subsection (f); or
(2) in one or more schools that meet the eligibility
requirements under Subsection (f).
(f) A district is eligible to be considered for a grant
under this section if:
(1) 60 percent or more of the students in the district
or the applicable schools receive free or reduced-price meals in
the 2008-2009 school year;
(2) the district or schools do not currently use a
nontraditional method to serve school breakfast; and
(3) the number of students who receive breakfast from
the district or the applicable schools is less than 50 percent of
the number of students who receive lunch from the school.
(g) To apply for a grant, an applicant must submit a written
application to the department including a school breakfast
participation expansion plan that:
(1) identifies strategies that the district or schools
will use to incorporate breakfast into the regular school day and
increase the number of students who eat school breakfast;
(2) indicates whether the district or schools will
serve free meals to all students and, if so, indicates whether the
district or schools will use Provision 2 or another method to ensure
the integrity of claims for free or reduced-price meals;
(3) details how the grant proceeds will be used; and
(4) includes a goal for the percentage increase in the
number of students who will eat school breakfast during the grant
period.
(h) Each grant recipient must submit a report to the
department quarterly that indicates:
(1) how the recipient is using the grant proceeds;
(2) the amount of grant proceeds the recipient has
spent; and
(3) the recipient's progress toward meeting its goal
under Subsection (g)(4).
(i) The department shall:
(1) develop requests for proposals associated with the
grant program;
(2) select grant recipients; and
(3) monitor each recipient's use of grant proceeds.
SECTION 2. Not later than December 1, 2009, the Department
of Agriculture shall establish and implement the school breakfast
participation expansion grant program under Section 12.045,
Agriculture Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.