| |
| |
|
|
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. |