CHAPTER 189 SCHOOL BOARDS, SUPERINTENDENTS, TEACHERS, AND TRUANT OFFICERS; SCHOOL CENSUS
School Boards, Transportation and Instruction of Pupils
Section 189:11-a
189:11-a Food and Nutrition Programs. –
I. Each school board shall make at least one meal available during school hours to every pupil under its jurisdiction. Such meals shall be served without cost or at a reduced cost to any child who meets federal income eligibility guidelines. The state board of education shall ensure compliance with this section and shall establish minimum nutritional standards for such meals as well as income guidelines set for the family size used in determining eligibility for free and reduced price meals. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the operation of both a breakfast and lunch program in the same school.
II. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph I, the requirements thereof may be waived as hereinafter provided:
(a) The school board of any school may make application for a waiver to the state board.
(b) Requests for such waiver may be granted by the commissioner of education upon the receipt of such application and shall remain in force until the state board determines otherwise as hereinafter provided.
(c) The state board is authorized and directed to study the schools which have been granted a waiver and to formulate a plan to implement the requirements of this section in such schools.
(d) The state board shall, after formulating such a plan, notify the school board granted such a waiver of the date when said waiver will terminate.
(e) After the termination of a waiver, a school board shall comply with the requirements of RSA 189:11-a, I.
(f) The state board may also grant a waiver to any school which is being phased out of use; however, such waiver may not exceed the period of one school year.
III. The state board shall prepare and distribute a curriculum for nutrition education and such curriculum shall be integrated into the regular courses of instruction for kindergarten and grades one through 12 during the school year.
IV. [Repealed.]
V. The school board of each school district shall develop and adopt a policy recommending that all pupils participate in developmentally appropriate daily physical activity, exercise, or physical education as a way to minimize the health risks created by chronic inactivity, childhood obesity, and other related health problems.
VI. The state board of education shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to a model physical activity policy and distribute such policy to each public school in the state.
VII. (a) Each school district which participates in the National School Breakfast Program shall maintain annual statistics on the number of breakfast meals served to pupils.
(b) Such school which demonstrates to the department of education that an approved school wellness policy, as required under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, Public Law 111-296, and the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, 42 U.S.C. section 1758b is in effect, and that such school is providing breakfast meals to pupils that meet or exceed the United States Department of Agriculture's child nutrition criteria may apply for and receive a 3 cent reimbursement for each breakfast meal served to a pupil and an additional 27 cent reimbursement for each meal served to students eligible for a reduced price meal. The department of education shall request biennial appropriations in an amount sufficient to meet projected school breakfast reimbursements to ensure students eligible for reduced price meals are offered breakfast at no cost. The department of education shall prescribe forms as necessary under this paragraph.
VIII. A school lunch meal payment policy which is implemented by a school board either before or after the effective date of this section shall ensure that all students have access to a healthy school lunch, that the school district will make every reasonable effort to inform parents of the policy, and that no student will be subject to different treatment from the standard school lunch meal or school cafeteria procedures. The department of education or the state board of education, upon request of the local school board, may provide communication assistance to school districts and parents of school children regarding the school lunch meal payment policy.
Source. 1973, 170:1. 1977, 183:1. 1979, 82:1. 1981, 318:6. 2001, 83:2, I. 2004, 33:2. 2006, 127:2. 2016, 48:1, eff. July 2, 2016. 2019, 301:1, 2, eff. July 1, 2019; 346:321, 322, eff. July 1, 2019.