|
|||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | AN ACT concerning education.
| ||||||
2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
| ||||||
4 | Section 5. The Childhood Hunger
Relief Act is amended by | ||||||
5 | changing Section 20 as follows: | ||||||
6 | (105 ILCS 126/20)
| ||||||
7 | Sec. 20. Summer food service program.
| ||||||
8 | (a) The State Board of Education shall promulgate a State | ||||||
9 | plan for
summer food service programs, in accordance with 42 | ||||||
10 | U.S.C. Sec. 1761 and any
other
applicable federal laws and | ||||||
11 | regulations,
by February 1, 2008
January 15, 2006 .
| ||||||
12 | (b) On or before February 15, 2008, a school district must | ||||||
13 | promulgate a plan to have a summer breakfast or lunch (or both) | ||||||
14 | food service program for each school (i) in which at least 50% | ||||||
15 | of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price school | ||||||
16 | meals and (ii) that has a summer school program. The plan must | ||||||
17 | be implemented during the summer of 2008. Each summer food | ||||||
18 | service program must operate for the duration of the school's | ||||||
19 | summer school program. If the school district has one or more | ||||||
20 | elementary schools that qualify, the summer food service | ||||||
21 | program must be operated in a manner that ensures all eligible | ||||||
22 | students receive services. If a school in which at least 50% of | ||||||
23 | the students are eligible for free or reduced-price school |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | meals is not open during the summer months, the school shall | ||||||
2 | provide information regarding the number of children in the | ||||||
3 | school who are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals | ||||||
4 | upon request by a not-for-profit entity.
By the summer of 2006 | ||||||
5 | and then each summer thereafter, it is strongly encouraged that | ||||||
6 | the board of
education of each school
district in this State in | ||||||
7 | which at least 50% of the students are eligible for
free or
| ||||||
8 | reduced-price school meals operate a summer food service | ||||||
9 | program
or identify a non-profit or private agency to sponsor a | ||||||
10 | summer food service
program within the school district's | ||||||
11 | boundaries.
| ||||||
12 | (c) Summer food service programs established under this | ||||||
13 | Section shall
may
be
supported by federal funds and commodities
| ||||||
14 | and other available State and local resources.
| ||||||
15 | (d) A school district shall be allowed to opt out of the
| ||||||
16 | summer food service program requirement of this Section if it | ||||||
17 | is
determined that, due to circumstances specific to that | ||||||
18 | school
district, the expense reimbursement would not fully | ||||||
19 | cover the
costs of implementing and operating a summer food | ||||||
20 | service program.
The school district shall petition its | ||||||
21 | regional superintendent
of schools by January 15 to request to | ||||||
22 | be exempt from the
summer food service program requirement. The | ||||||
23 | petition shall
include all legitimate costs associated with | ||||||
24 | implementing and
operating a summer food service program, the | ||||||
25 | estimated
reimbursement from State and federal sources, and any | ||||||
26 | unique
circumstances the school district can verify that exist |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | that
would cause the implementation and operation of such a | ||||||
2 | program
to be cost prohibitive. | ||||||
3 | The regional superintendent of schools shall review the
| ||||||
4 | petition. He or she shall convene a public hearing to hear
| ||||||
5 | testimony from the school district and interested community
| ||||||
6 | members. The regional superintendent shall, by March 1,
inform | ||||||
7 | the school district of his or her decision, along with
the | ||||||
8 | reasons why the exemption was granted or denied, in
writing. If | ||||||
9 | the regional superintendent grants an exemption to
the school | ||||||
10 | district, then the school district is relieved from
the | ||||||
11 | requirement to establish and implement a summer food service
| ||||||
12 | program. | ||||||
13 | If the regional superintendent of schools does not grant an
| ||||||
14 | exemption to the school district, then the school district
| ||||||
15 | shall implement and operate a summer food service program in
| ||||||
16 | accordance with this Section the summer following the current | ||||||
17 | school year. However, the school district or a resident of the
| ||||||
18 | school district may appeal the decision of the regional
| ||||||
19 | superintendent to the State Superintendent of Education. No
| ||||||
20 | later than April 1 of each year, the State Superintendent
shall | ||||||
21 | hear appeals on the decisions of regional superintendents
of | ||||||
22 | schools. The State Superintendent shall make a final
decision | ||||||
23 | at the conclusion of the hearing on the school
district's | ||||||
24 | request for an exemption from the summer food service
program | ||||||
25 | requirement. If the State Superintendent grants an
exemption to | ||||||
26 | the school district, then the school district is
relieved from |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | the requirement to implement and operate a summer food service | ||||||
2 | program. If the State Superintendent does not grant
an | ||||||
3 | exemption to the school district, then the school district
| ||||||
4 | shall implement and operate a summer food service program in
| ||||||
5 | accordance with this Section the summer following the current | ||||||
6 | school year. | ||||||
7 | (Source: P.A. 93-1086, eff. 2-15-05.) | ||||||
8 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
9 | becoming law. |