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READ ALL ABOUT IT!!
AB 839 “Breakfast First” is gaining momentum . . . and press coverage! Click this link to read the April 21st article in the Monterey County Weekly: http://mcweekly.www.clients.ellingtoncms.com/news/2011/apr/21/building-breakfast/
The State Public Affairs Committee for the Junior Leagues of California convened in San Diego March 18th and 19th for their annual Winter Conference. The following is a list of the bills pending in the Assembly and the Senate that the SPAC delegation voted to officially support:
Health
AB 137 Health Care Coverage: Mammographies (Portantino)
AB 395 Newborn Screening Program (Pan)
AB 581 Public Health Food Initiative (John A. Pérez)
SB 255 Breast Cancer Surgery (Pavley)
SB 36 County Health Matching Funds (Simitian)
Family Support
AB 181 Foster Youth Mental Health Bill of Rights (Portantino)
AB 194 Public Higher Education: Priority Enrollment Foster Youth (Beall)
AB 212 Fostering Connections to Success Act (Beall)
SB 299 Employment Pregnancy or Childbirth Leave (Evans)
SB 33 Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse (Simitian)
Education
AB 123 School Safety: Disruption Threatening Pupil’s Immediate Physical Safety (Mendoza)
AB 25 Athletics: Concussions and Injuries (Hayashi)
Violence Prevention
AB 12 Abolition of Child Commerce, Exploitation, and Sexual Slavery Act of 2011 (Swanson)
AB 322 Forensic Evidence: Rape Kits (Portantino)
AB 545 Domestic Violence: Corporal Injury (John A. Pérez)
AB 588 Tenancy: Victims of Domestic Violence (V. Manuel Pérez)
AB 630 Public Safety: Bullying (Hueso)
AB 799 Commercially Sexually Exploited Minors (Swanson)
SB 557 Family Justice Centers (Kehoe)
SB 723 Restraining Orders (Pavley)
SPAC will convene again in Sacramento on April 30th and May 1st for their annual Spring Conference where the bills that the SPAC sub-committees are currently watching will be discussed.
Assemblymember Julia Brownley has introduced AB 839, “Pupil Nutrition: Federal School Breakfast Program Participation,” sponsored by the Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee and the California Food Policy Advocates. Following is a summary of the bill:
Existing law requires each school district or county superintendent of schools maintaining any kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to provide for each needy pupil one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each school day. Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that the Federal School Breakfast Program be made available in all schools where it is needed to provide adequate nutrition for children in attendance. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to, in cooperation with school districts and county superintendents of schools, provide information and limited financial assistance to encourage school breakfast program startup and expansion into all qualified schools. Existing law encourages school districts and charter schools that do not operate school breakfast programs to apply for funding to establish breakfast programs using funds appropriated for this purpose in the annual Budget Act.
This bill would state findings and declarations regarding the importance of breakfast to the achievement of pupils. This bill would require school districts to undertake specific actions to increase access to the federal School Breakfast Program. The bill would require school districts to submit a report to the State Department of Education on each noncharter, public school site within the district that did not operate a federal School Breakfast Program in the previous school year, hear and discuss the report at two school district board meetings, and adopt a resolution for submission to the department that indicates which school sites will continue not to operate the program and articulates the reason for continued nonoperation, and which school sites will begin to operate the program and provides a timeline for implementation of the program.
The bill would also require school districts to undertake specified actions to increase participation in the federal School Breakfast Program at sites where a breakfast program already exists. The bill would require school districts to identify noncharter, public school sites within the district that operate a federal School Breakfast Program but experience low participation, as defined, submit a report to the department regarding enrollment and participation in the program, and considering options concerning its operation, hear and discuss the report at 2 school district board meetings, and adopt a resolution for submission to the department that indicates which school sites will continue to operate the program without changes, and which school sites will continue to operate the program with changes, and provides a timeline for implementing those changes.
Because this bill would require school districts to perform additional duties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
For the complete bill text, please click on the following link: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_0801-0850/ab_839_bill_20110217_introduced.pdf For more about the importance of ensuring all students have access to school breakfast, please see the breakfastfirst.org website: http://www.breakfastfirst.org/
Proposed Changes Will Improve the Health and Wellbeing of Children Nationwide and Help Address Childhood Obesity Crisis
On January 13, 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a proposed rule to update the nutrition standards for meals served through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 13, 2010. The new proposed meal requirements will raise standards for the first time in fifteen years and will make critical changes to school meals and help improve the health and nutrition of nearly 32 million kids that participate in school meal programs every school day, an important component of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative to solve the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation. To read more, click here: USDA News Release 011311.
On December 2nd the House of Representatives approved the “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act” (S.3307) by a vote of 264 to 157. Because the House passed the same bill that the Senate unanimously approved earlier this year, the bill will head straight to the President’s desk where he is expected to quickly sign it. The changes in this bill represent real change for millions of low-income children across the country!
Please see the November 25th blog posting below for details on the federal legislation that the California SPAC Delegation voted to support.
In April of this year, the SPAC delegation both selected school food as our sponsored legislation focus area and understanding that school food standards and reimbursement are highly dependent on the Federal Child Nutrition Act and School Lunch Program, the delegation also voted to support three Federal “marker” bills in connection with the Child Nutrition Act (CNA) reauthorization, which is a review and update of Act which occurs every 5 years. SPAC focused on the House of Representative’s version of the CNA reauthorization, as the Senate’s version (S. 3307) was finalized in March prior to our review. The three “marker” bills that we supported included:
HR 4148: Hunger Free Schools Act, which among other things would allow more schools in high poverty areas to provide free meals to all children and allows use of Medicaid data to certify children for free meals (“direct certify”).
HR 4333: Children’s Fruit and Vegetable Act, which would provide children with increased access to fruit and salad bars.
HR 4870: Healthy School Meals Act, which would provide schools with more vegetarian foods and healthful nondairy beverages.
When the House finalized their reauthorization bill (HR 5504), it included many of the provisions of the Hunger Free Schools Act and the Children’s Fruit and Vegetable Act. Though both bills improve upon the current Act, neither include adequate funding to fundamentally transform school food, however they do include many health-promoting policy provisions and small increases in reimbursement to schools. The House’s version includes more provisions for access to healthy school meals than it’s counterpart, additionally the Senate’s version would pay for improvements through cuts to food stamp programs which are also critical to the communities we serve.
For a side-by-side comparison of the House and Senate CNA reauthorization bills, please click on the following link: http://frac.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/cnr_side_by_side_comparison_aug2010.pdf
Click here for more information about the CNA reauthorization: http://www.schoolnutrition.org/content.aspx?id=2402
Unfortunately, Congress didn’t get to the CNA reauthorization before it recessed in late September. We will monitor the vote timing with the hope that the SPAC delegation has an opportunity to contact Congress in favor of the House bill.
Joy Burkhard, SPAC Co-Chair
Nov. 2010
