Full Text of SB1400 93rd General Assembly
SB1400ham001 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Elementary & Secondary Education Committee
Adopted in House Comm. on May 13, 2004
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| AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1400
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1400 by replacing | 3 |
| everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 |
| Childhood Hunger
Relief Act.
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| Section 5. State policy and legislative intent. The General | 7 |
| Assembly
recognizes that hunger and food security are serious | 8 |
| problems in the State of
Illinois with as
many as one million | 9 |
| citizens being affected. These citizens have lost
their sense | 10 |
| of food security.
Food insecurity occurs whenever the | 11 |
| availability of nutritionally adequate
and safe foods or the | 12 |
| ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially
acceptable ways | 13 |
| is limited or uncertain. Hunger is a painful or uneasy
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| sensation caused by a recurrent or involuntary lack of food and | 15 |
| is a
potential, although not necessary, consequence of food | 16 |
| insecurity. Over
time, hunger may result in malnutrition.
It is | 17 |
| estimated that just under 600,000 Illinois
children
experience | 18 |
| hunger or food insecurity, meaning that they either go without
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| eating meals,
or their parents or guardians cannot provide the | 20 |
| kinds of food they need.
At present, the Illinois economy is | 21 |
| steadily experiencing a 6%
unemployment rate, people are being | 22 |
| laid off who thought they had job
security, and the unemployed | 23 |
| are remaining unemployed beyond the
terms of unemployment | 24 |
| benefits. Emergency food providers throughout
the State are |
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| experiencing an increase in the number of working poor
families | 2 |
| requesting emergency food. In October 2003, Illinois was
ranked | 3 |
| 48th in the nation in providing school breakfasts to low-income
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| children of families who meet the criteria for free and | 5 |
| reduced-price
lunches.
Because
low-income children are not | 6 |
| being
adequately nourished, even to the point where many are | 7 |
| arriving at school
hungry, the General Assembly believes it is | 8 |
| in the best interest of
Illinois to utilize resources available | 9 |
| through existing child nutrition
programs, to the fullest | 10 |
| extent possible.
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| The General Assembly also recognizes a definite | 12 |
| correlation between
adequate child nutrition and a child's | 13 |
| physical, emotional, and cognitive
development. There is also a | 14 |
| correlation between adequate nutrition and a
child's ability to | 15 |
| perform well in school.
Documented research has proven that | 16 |
| school breakfasts improve
attendance and increase a child's | 17 |
| readiness to learn.
In this regard, the General
Assembly | 18 |
| realizes the importance of the National
School Breakfast | 19 |
| Program and the Summer Food Service Program
as
effective | 20 |
| measures that must be widely implemented to ensure more | 21 |
| adequate
nutrition for Illinois children.
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| Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
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| "Hunger" means a symptom of poverty caused by a lack of | 24 |
| resources that
prevents the purchasing of a nutritionally | 25 |
| adequate diet resulting in a
chronic condition of being | 26 |
| undernourished.
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| "Food insecurity" means a limited or uncertain | 28 |
| availability of
nutritionally adequate foods.
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| "Food security" means
ensured access to enough food for an | 30 |
| active, healthy life.
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| "School Breakfast Program" means the federal child | 32 |
| nutrition entitlement
program that helps serve nourishing | 33 |
| low-cost breakfast meals to school
children. In addition to |
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| cash assistance, participating schools get
foods donated by and | 2 |
| technical guidance from the United States Department of | 3 |
| Agriculture. Payments to schools are higher
for meals served to | 4 |
| children who qualify, on the basis of family size and
income, | 5 |
| for free or reduced-price meals. The program is administered in
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| Illinois by the State Board of Education.
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| "Summer Food Service Program" means the federal child | 8 |
| nutrition
entitlement program that helps communities serve | 9 |
| meals to needy children
when school is not in session. The | 10 |
| United States Department of Agriculture reimburses sponsors | 11 |
| for operating
costs of food services up to a specific maximum | 12 |
| rate for each meal served.
In addition, sponsors receive some | 13 |
| reimbursement for planning and
supervising expenses. The | 14 |
| program in Illinois is administered by the State
Board of | 15 |
| Education.
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| Section 15. School breakfast program.
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| (a) By September 1, 2004 and then each school year | 18 |
| thereafter, the board of education of each school district in
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| this State shall implement and operate a school breakfast | 20 |
| program, if a breakfast program
does not currently exist, in | 21 |
| accordance with
federal guidelines in each school building | 22 |
| within
its district in which at least 40% or more of the
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| students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches based | 24 |
| upon the count on
October 31 of the previous year.
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| Using the data from the previous school year, the board of | 26 |
| education of each school
district in the State shall determine | 27 |
| which schools within their districts
will be required to | 28 |
| implement and operate a school breakfast program.
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| (b) School districts may charge students who do not meet | 30 |
| federal
criteria for free school meals
for the breakfasts | 31 |
| served to these students within the allowable
limits set by | 32 |
| federal regulations.
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| (c) School breakfast programs established under this |
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| Section shall be
supported entirely by federal funds and | 2 |
| commodities, charges to students
and other participants, and | 3 |
| other available State and local resources,
including under the | 4 |
| School Breakfast and Lunch Program Act.
Allowable costs for | 5 |
| reimbursement to school districts, in accordance with the | 6 |
| United States Department of Agriculture, include compensation | 7 |
| of employees for the time devoted and identified specifically | 8 |
| to implement the school breakfast program; the cost of | 9 |
| materials acquired, consumed, or expended specifically to | 10 |
| implement the school breakfast program; equipment and other | 11 |
| approved capital expenditures necessary to implement the | 12 |
| school breakfast program; and transportation expenses incurred | 13 |
| specifically to implement and operate the school breakfast | 14 |
| program. | 15 |
| (d) A school district shall be allowed to opt out of the | 16 |
| school breakfast program requirement of this Section if it is | 17 |
| determined that, due to circumstances specific to that school | 18 |
| district, the expense
reimbursement would not fully cover the | 19 |
| costs of implementing and operating a
school breakfast program. | 20 |
| The school district shall petition its regional superintendent | 21 |
| of schools by November 15 to request to be exempt
from the | 22 |
| school breakfast program requirement. The petition shall | 23 |
| include all legitimate costs associated with implementing and | 24 |
| operating a school breakfast program, the estimated | 25 |
| reimbursement from State and federal sources, and any unique | 26 |
| circumstances the school district can verify that exist that | 27 |
| would cause the implementation and operation of such a program | 28 |
| to be cost prohibitive. | 29 |
| The regional superintendent of schools shall review the | 30 |
| petition. He or she shall convene a public hearing to hear | 31 |
| testimony from the school district and interested community | 32 |
| members. The regional superintendent shall, by December 15, | 33 |
| inform the school district of his or her decision, along with | 34 |
| the reasons why the exemption was granted or denied, in |
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| writing. If the regional superintendent grants an exemption to | 2 |
| the school district, then the school district is relieved from | 3 |
| the requirement to establish and implement a school breakfast | 4 |
| program. | 5 |
| If the regional superintendent of schools does not grant an | 6 |
| exemption to the school district, then the school district | 7 |
| shall implement and operate a school breakfast program in | 8 |
| accordance with this Section by September 1 of the subsequent | 9 |
| school year. However, the school district or a resident of the | 10 |
| school district may appeal the decision of the regional | 11 |
| superintendent to the Chairperson of the Illinois House of | 12 |
| Representatives' Elementary and Secondary Education Committee | 13 |
| and the Chairperson of the Illinois Senate's Education | 14 |
| Committee. No later than February 15 of each year, a joint | 15 |
| committee made up of the members of the House Elementary and | 16 |
| Secondary Education Committee and Senate Education Committee, | 17 |
| jointly chaired by the chairpersons of those committees, shall | 18 |
| be convened to hear appeals on the decisions of regional | 19 |
| superintendents of schools. This joint committee shall make a | 20 |
| final decision at the conclusion of the hearing on the school | 21 |
| district's request for an exemption from the school breakfast | 22 |
| program requirement. If the joint committee grants an exemption | 23 |
| to the school district, then the school district is relieved | 24 |
| from the requirement to implement and operate a school | 25 |
| breakfast program. If the joint committee does not grant an | 26 |
| exemption to the school district, then the school district | 27 |
| shall implement and operate a school breakfast program in | 28 |
| accordance with this Section by September 1 of the subsequent | 29 |
| school year.
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| A school district may not attempt to opt out of the school | 31 |
| breakfast program requirement of this Section by requesting a | 32 |
| waiver under Section 2-3.25g of the School Code.
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| Section 20. Summer food service program.
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| (a) The State Board of Education shall promulgate a State | 2 |
| plan for
summer food service programs, in accordance with 42 | 3 |
| U.S.C. Sec. 1761 and any
other
applicable federal laws and | 4 |
| regulations,
by January 15, 2005.
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| (b) By the summer of 2005 and then each summer thereafter, | 6 |
| it is strongly encouraged that the board of
education of each | 7 |
| school
district in this State in which at least 50% of the | 8 |
| students are eligible for
free or
reduced-price school meals | 9 |
| operate a summer food service program
or identify a non-profit | 10 |
| or private agency to sponsor a summer food service
program | 11 |
| within the school district's boundaries.
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| (c) Summer food service programs established under this | 13 |
| Section may
be
supported by federal funds and commodities
and | 14 |
| other available State and local resources.
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| Section 95. The School Breakfast and Lunch Program Act is | 16 |
| amended by
changing Sections 2.5, 4, and 5 as follows:
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| (105 ILCS 125/2.5)
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| Sec. 2.5. Breakfast incentive program. The State Board of
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| Education shall fund a breakfast incentive program comprised of | 20 |
| the
components described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of | 21 |
| this Section,
provided that a separate appropriation is made | 22 |
| for the purposes of this
Section. The State Board of Education | 23 |
| may allocate the appropriation
among the program components in | 24 |
| whatever manner the State Board of
Education finds will best | 25 |
| serve the goal of increasing participation in
school breakfast | 26 |
| programs. If the amount of the appropriation allocated
under | 27 |
| paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of this Section is insufficient to | 28 |
| fund all
claims submitted under that particular paragraph, the | 29 |
| claims under that
paragraph shall be prorated.
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| (1) The State Board of Education may reimburse each
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| sponsor of a school breakfast program an additional $0.10 | 32 |
| for each
free, reduced-price, and paid breakfast served |
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| over and above the
number of such breakfasts served in the | 2 |
| same month during the
preceding year, provided that the | 3 |
| number of breakfasts served in a
participating school | 4 |
| building
by
the sponsor in that month is at least 10% | 5 |
| greater than the number
of breakfasts served in the same | 6 |
| month during the preceding year.
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| (2) The State Board of Education may make grants to | 8 |
| school
boards and welfare centers that agree to start a | 9 |
| school breakfast
program in one or more schools or other | 10 |
| sites.
First priority for these grants shall be given to | 11 |
| schools in which 40%
50% or
more of their
students are | 12 |
| eligible for free and reduced price meals under the | 13 |
| National
School Lunch
Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). | 14 |
| Depending on the availability of funds and the
rate at
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| which funds are being utilized, the State Board of | 16 |
| Education is authorized to
allow additional schools or | 17 |
| other sites to receive these
grants. In
making additional | 18 |
| grants, the State Board of Education
shall
provide for | 19 |
| priority to be given to schools with the highest percentage | 20 |
| of
students eligible
for free and reduced price lunches | 21 |
| under the National School Lunch Act.
The amount of the | 22 |
| grant shall be $3,500 for
each qualifying school or site in | 23 |
| which a school breakfast program
is started. The grants | 24 |
| shall be used to pay the start-up costs for
the school | 25 |
| breakfast program, including equipment, supplies, and
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| program promotion, but shall not be used for food, labor, | 27 |
| or other
recurring operational costs. Applications for the | 28 |
| grants shall be
made to the State Board of Education on | 29 |
| forms designated by the
State Board of Education. Any | 30 |
| grantee that fails to operate a
school breakfast program | 31 |
| for at least 3 years after receipt of a
grant shall refund | 32 |
| the amount of the grant to the State Board of
Education.
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| (3) The State Board of Education may reimburse a school
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| board for each free, reduced-price, or paid breakfast |
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| served in a
school breakfast program located in a school in | 2 |
| which 80% or more
of the students are eligible to receive | 3 |
| free or reduced price lunches
under the National School | 4 |
| Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) in an
amount equal to | 5 |
| the difference between (i) the current amount
reimbursed by | 6 |
| the federal government for a free breakfast and (ii)
the | 7 |
| amount actually reimbursed by the federal government for | 8 |
| that
free, reduced-price, or paid breakfast. A school board | 9 |
| that receives
reimbursement under this paragraph (3) shall | 10 |
| not be eligible in the
same year to receive reimbursement | 11 |
| under paragraph (1) of this
Section.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-843, eff. 6-22-00.)
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| (105 ILCS 125/4) (from Ch. 122, par. 712.4)
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| Sec. 4. Accounts; copies of menus served; free lunch | 15 |
| program required;
report. School boards and welfare centers | 16 |
| shall keep an accurate, detailed
and separate account of all | 17 |
| moneys expended for school breakfast programs,
school lunch | 18 |
| programs, free breakfast programs, and free lunch programs,
and | 19 |
| summer food service programs,
and of the amounts for which they | 20 |
| are reimbursed by any governmental agency,
moneys received from | 21 |
| students and from any other contributors to the program.
School | 22 |
| boards and welfare centers shall also keep on file a copy of | 23 |
| all menus
served under the programs, which together with all | 24 |
| records of receipts and
disbursements, shall be made available | 25 |
| to representatives of the State Board
of Education at any time.
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| Every public school must have a free lunch program.
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| In 2001 and in each subsequent year, the State Board of | 28 |
| Education
shall provide to the Governor and the General | 29 |
| Assembly, by a date not later
than March 1, a report that | 30 |
| provides all of the following:
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| (1) A list by school district of all schools, the total | 32 |
| student
enrollment, and the number of children eligible for | 33 |
| free, reduced price,
and paid breakfasts and lunches.
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| (2) A list of schools that have started breakfast | 2 |
| programs during the
past year along with information on | 3 |
| which schools have utilized the $3,500
start-up grants and | 4 |
| the additional $0.10 per meal increased participation
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| incentives established under Section 2.5 of this Act.
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| (3) A list of schools that have used the school | 7 |
| breakfast program
option outlined in this Act, a list of | 8 |
| schools that have exercised Provision
Two or Provision | 9 |
| Three under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771
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| et seq.), and a list of schools that have dropped either | 11 |
| school lunch or
school breakfast programs during the past | 12 |
| year and the reasons why.
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| In 2005, 2007, and 2009
2001, 2003, and 2005 the report | 14 |
| required by this Section shall also
include information that | 15 |
| documents the results of surveys designed to identify
parental | 16 |
| interest in school breakfast programs and documents barriers to
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| establishing school breakfast programs. To develop the surveys | 18 |
| for school
administrators and for parents, the State Board of | 19 |
| Education shall work in
coordination with the State Board of | 20 |
| Education's Child Nutrition Advisory
Council and local | 21 |
| committees that involve parents, teachers, principals,
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| superintendents, business, and anti-hunger advocates, | 23 |
| organized by the State
Board of Education to foster community | 24 |
| involvement. The State Board of
Education is authorized to | 25 |
| distribute the surveys in all schools where there
are no school | 26 |
| breakfast programs.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-843, eff. 6-22-00 .)
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| (105 ILCS 125/5) (from Ch. 122, par. 712.5)
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| Sec. 5. Application for participation in programs.
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| Applications for participation in the school breakfast | 31 |
| program,
the school lunch program,
the free breakfast program, | 32 |
| and the free lunch program , and the summer
food service program
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| shall be made on
forms provided by the State Board of Education |
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| and filed
with the State Board , through the Regional | 2 |
| Superintendent
of Schools .
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| (Source: P.A. 91-843, eff. 6-22-00.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 5 |
| becoming law.".
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