Bill Text: NJ A1632 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Requires school district to establish "School Meal Fund" to assist students with school meal bill in arrears.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 20-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-10-08 - Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [A1632 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A1632-Amended.html
ASSEMBLY, No. 1632
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman PAMELA R. LAMPITT
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman RALPH R. CAPUTO
District 28 (Essex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Vainieri Huttle, Jasey, Assemblyman Danielsen, Assemblywoman McKnight, Assemblyman Benson, Assemblywomen Downey, Timberlake, Speight, Mosquera, Murphy and Lopez
SYNOPSIS
Requires school district to establish "School Meal Fund" to assist students with school meal bill in arrears.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As amended by the General Assembly on February 24, 2020.
An Act concerning school meals and supplementing chapter 33 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. 1A board of education shall accept monetary donations from any person or entity for the purposes of assisting students with the purchase of school breakfast or school lunch and satisfying any arrears of school breakfast or school lunch bills of students enrolled in the school district, unless the donation is otherwise precluded by law or regulation.1 A board of education shall 1[establish] place the donations in1 a "School Meal Fund" 1, which shall be established by the board of education1 for the 1sole1 purpose of accepting donations to assist students 1enrolled in the district1 with the purchase of school breakfast or school lunch and to 1[fund] satisfy1 any arrears 1[in the] of1 school breakfast or school lunch bills 1[of students enrolled in the school district. A board of education shall accept donations from any person or entity, unless the donation is otherwise precluded by law or regulation]1. The School Meal Fund shall be established through the adoption of a resolution by the board of education. The fund shall be maintained under the jurisdiction of the board of education and the supervision of the school business administrator.
1School Meal Fund moneys shall be maintained in a separate bank account.1 The fund shall be credited with any donations made to the fund, any moneys allocated to the fund by the school district, and any interest income that may be earned on the investment of moneys in the fund. 1The fund shall be reduced by all costs related to the operation of the fund, including bank service fees and direct administrative costs for the oversight and management of the fund. Any funds remaining at the end of the fiscal year shall be carried forward into subsequent fiscal years and utilized solely for the purposes of this subsection.1
b. The board of education shall ensure, through the adoption of a board policy, that all financial and bookkeeping controls are adequate to ensure appropriate fiscal accountability of the fund. The board policy shall also outline the standards that shall be applied in making a determination to disburse funds from the School Meal Fund. 1The policy shall ensure equitable distribution of the funds that are disbursed.1 Disbursements from the fund shall be recorded showing the date, purpose, and amount of the disbursement. The fund shall be subject to audit as part of the school district's annual audit conducted pursuant to N.J.S.18A:23-1.
c. The board of education shall provide, through written and electronic means, information to the parents and guardians of students enrolled in the school district and to other residents of the school district and community organizations 1[on the establishment of the fund, its purposes,] regarding the board of education's obligation to accept donated funds for the purposes established pursuant to subsection a. of this section1 and the procedures to be followed to make a donation to the fund. The information shall also be posted in a prominent location on the school district's Internet website. 1The notification requirement shall not apply to school districts in which all schools within the district have adopted the Community Eligibility Provision, as that term is defined in subsection c. of P.L.2018, c.26 (C.18A:33-14.1), and provide free school meals to all students enrolled in the district.1
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
