Increasing the availability of school meals provided to public school students at no student cost.
Summary
Requires, with limited exceptions, each school with students in or below grade 8 with 62.5 percent or more of its students eligible for free meals through a direct certification process to participate in the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), thereby making school meals available to all students at no charge.
Modifies funding provisions for the Learning Assistance Program (LAP) by allowing schools participating in the CEP to receive state allocations based on the district's percentage of students who were eligible for free and reduced-price meals in the school year that preceded the school's participation in the CEP.
Modifies eligibility requirements for certain annual teacher bonuses by allowing free and reduced-price lunch eligibility data from the school year immediately preceding the school's participation in the CEP to be used in determining eligibility for the bonuses.
Extends a directive requiring the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to convene meetings with organizations working on a plan to increase the number of students participating in the CEP, and directs the OSPI and the organizations to examine the impacts to schools and districts that can result from participation in the CEP.
From the Engrossed Substitute House Bill Report (ESHB 2660), written by the Legislature's nonpartisan staff. Read the full report ↗