Child nutrition: school, childcare, and preschool meals.

(1) Existing law requires each school district or county superintendent of schools maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and, commencing with the 2019–20 school year, each charter school, to provide for each needy pupil one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday. Existing law sets the reimbursement rate for free or reduced-price meals served to needy pupils by family daycare homes at 75% of the meals served, and sets, for the 2019–20 fiscal year, the reimbursement a school receives for free and reduced-price meals sold or served to pupils in elementary, middle, or high schools at $0.2445 per meal, and for meals served in childcare centers and homes at $0.1822 per meal. This bill would repeal the provisions setting the reimbursement rate for free or reduced-price meals served to needy pupils by family daycare homes at 75% of the meals served. The bill would require the reimbursement rate for meals served in schools and childcare centers and homes to be established in the annual Budget Act. (2) The Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Education, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer childcare and development programs that offer a full range of services to eligible children from infancy to 13 years of age, inclusive. This bill would require a school district, county superintendent of schools, or charter school maintaining a childcare and development program to provide each needy child, as defined, that attends the childcare and development program with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal, as defined, during each program day. (3) Existing law declares the policy of the state that each childcare and development facility has an obligation to provide for the nutritional needs of the children attending that childcare and development facility. This bill would authorize a childcare and development program, in order to prevent hunger by providing nutritious meals to children, to use funds made available to the childcare and development program through any federal or state program the purpose of which includes the provision of meals to a child, or to do so at the expense of the childcare and development program. (4) Existing law requires the Superintendent to administer all California state preschool programs, which include part-day and full-day age and developmentally appropriate programs for 3- and 4-year-old children, as provided. This bill would require, commencing July 1, 2020, each part-day California state preschool program to provide to each child enrolled in the program access to at least one nutritious meal per program day. The bill would require, commencing July 1, 2020, each full-day California state preschool program to provide to each child enrolled in the program access to at least 2 nutritious meals or 2 snacks and one nutritious meal per program day. (5) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 47613.5 of the Education Code proposed by AB 354 to be operative only if this bill and AB 354 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 49550 of the Education Code proposed by AB 354 and AB 1595 to be operative only if this bill and either or both AB 354 and AB 1595 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.