Policy 3520 – School Nutrition Programs

The ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ’s food service program is intended to provide nutritious and appetizing meals to students. The School Board recognizes that good nutrition is vital to students’ health, their mental and physical growth, and their readiness to participate and learn at school.

The food service program is operated in conjunction with federal and state school nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program.

It is the School Board’s goal that the food service program shall be operated in a manner that is financially self-supporting on an operational basis, with allowances for capital expenditures (e.g., facilities and capital equipment). The price of unsubsidized school meals shall be established in accordance with the USDA meal pricing requirements. Employees and authorized school visitors may be permitted to purchase school meals according to procedures approved by the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ Administrator.

The ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ’s Director of Food Service shall have primary responsibility for the management of the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ’s food service program, subject to administrative supervision and Board oversight. The responsibilities of the Director of Food Service include the following:

  1. Establish a program that meets applicable nutrition standards that is consistent with the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ’s school wellness policy.
  2. Establish and monitor implementation of a food safety program/plan that includes procedures and standards for the safe and sanitary transportation, storage, preparation, and serving of food.
  3. Arrange for regular inspection of the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ’s food service preparation and serving facilities as required by law.
  4. Work with the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ’s Chief Financial Officer to implement and monitor sound program accounting practices; appropriate lawful procurement procedures and financial reporting.
  5. Arrange for and monitor the completion of training received by the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ’s food service employees, including training related to food safety and civil rights obligations.
  6. Ensure the proper dissemination and processing of free and reduced-price meal applications and establish standards and procedures to ensure the appropriate confidentiality of application information and eligibility status.
  7. Ensure that students who participate in the free or reduced-price meals program are not overtly identified, distinguished, or served differently than other students, and have the same choice of meals or milk as other students.
  8. Work with individual students, and their parents/guardians and school to address special dietary needs.
  9. Arrange for and verify that the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ issues and provides required public notices related to the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ’s food service program. Such notices include (a) the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ’s annual public release; (b) the distribution of information letters to households with children attending ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ schools; (c) the appropriate posting of the most recent food safety inspection report; (d) the appropriate posting of the mandatory federal nondiscrimination poster; and (e) the inclusion of the mandatory nondiscrimination statement in appropriate publications, documents, and other informational sources.
  10. Establish a system to collect and report program ethnic and racial data on an annual basis.
  11. Compile all reports concerning the school nutrition programs.

DISTRICT NONDISCRIMINATION STATEMENT AND COMPLAINT INFORMATION

Refer to ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ School Board Policy 5110.1 – Student Equal Opportunity, Nondiscrimination, and Anti-Harassment in Education at /wp-content/uploads/2021/02/5110.1.pdf.

USDA NONDISCRIMINATION STATEMENT AND COMPLAINT INFORMATION

Refer to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Nondiscrimination Statement at .

LEGAL REF.:

  • Wisconsin Statutes
    • 97.33 [Certificate of food protection practices]
    • 97.59 [Handling foods]
    • 115.34 [School lunch program]
    • 115.341 [School breakfast program]
    • 115.343 [Wisconsin school day milk program]
    • 115.347 [Direct certification of school nutrition program eligibility]
    • 118.13 [Student nondiscrimination]
    • 120.10(16) [Annual meeting power; furnish school lunches and appropriate funds]
    • 120.13(6) [Board power; apply for/receive/expend federal aid]
    • 120.13(10) [Board power; furnish school meals and charge for them]
  • Wisconsin Administrative Code
    • PI 1.11 [Food and nutrition appeals]
    • PI 9.03(1) [Student nondiscrimination policy requirements]
  • U.S. Code & Codes of Federal Regulations
    • National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et.seq)
    • Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et.seq.)
    • Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004
    • 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq. [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act]
    • 29 U.S.C. §794 et seq. [Nondiscrimination under Federal grants and programs]
    • 42 U.S.C. Ch. 13 [Provisions and requirements of the National School Lunch Act]
    • 42 U.S.C. Ch. 13A [Other federal programs under the Child Nutrition Act]
    • 42 U.S.C. §1758(b) [School lunch program eligibility requirements]
    • 42 U.S.C. §12131 et seq. [Americans with Disabilities Act, Title II]
    • 7 C.F.R. Part 15b [Nondiscrimination on the basis of handicap in programs or activities receiving federal aid]
    • 7 C.F.R. §210.10Ìý[Lunch and afterschool snack requirements]
    • 7 C.F.R. §210.12 [Student, parent, and community involvement in school meal programs and activities]
    • 7 C.F.R. §220.8Ìý [School breakfast requirements]
    • 7 C.F.R. Part 245 [Determining eligibility for free and reduced-price meals and free milk in schools]

CROSS REF.:

  • 3110 Annual Operating Budget
  • 3420 Purchasing
  • 3422 Exclusivity Agreements with Vendors
  • 3522 Milk Program
  • 3523 Vending Machines for Food Items
  • 3600 School Safety
  • 3643 Emergency School Closings (Inclement Weather)
  • 5110 Equal Educational Opportunity/Student Discrimination Complaint
  • 5533 Communicable Disease Control
  • 5580 School Wellness
  • ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ Emergency Operations Plan

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION: None

AFFIRMED: April 9, 1991

REVISED:

  • August 8, 1995
  • July 27, 1999
  • October 28, 2003
  • December 18, 2007
  • November 14, 2023

Rule 3520 – School Nutrition Programs

FREE AND REDUCED-PRICE MEAL ELIGIBILITY

The ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ participates in the National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program. In these programs, the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ follows state and federal requirements regarding a child’s or household’s eligibility for free or reduced-price meals, including the applicable income eligibility guidelines and all applicable nondiscrimination requirements. The primary means of establishing eligibility for free or reduced-price meals are:

  1. Through the annual submission of an application for the free or reduced-price benefits; or
  2. Through direct certification, which is based on a match to state-provided data that confirms an individual child’s status as a child in foster care or that confirms a household’s participation in a qualifying means-tested benefit program, including Wisconsin’s version of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also called FoodShare) and Wisconsin Works (also called W-2) cash assistance.

SCHOOL MEAL ACCOUNT CHARGES AND ACCESS TO SCHOOL MEALS AND OTHER FOOD SERVICE ITEMS

These procedures describe how the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ approaches charges and payments for meals and other items that are offered for sale within the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ’s food service program.

When a student purchases a school meal or other food-service item, the general rule is that payment is due no later than at the time of service. However, a student may occasionally wish to receive a school-prepared meal that the student does not have enough money to pay for, either in hand or in a pre-paid account balance. Unless the student’s parent or guardian has made alternative arrangements with the school, these situations will normally be handled as follows:

  1. Students in elementary school may charge the cost of school meals or ala carte milk up to a total negative balance of $19.25 equivalent to about seven lunches.
  2. Middle and High school students are not permitted to charge meals or other food-service items, in any amount.

Students who are not permitted to charge meals will be offered a courtesy snack at a price consistent with USDA required non-program foods pricing requirements.Ìý The courtesy meal normally consists of the following for breakfast and lunch: graham crackers, applesauce and milk.Ìý

In addition, even if a student’s household owes a debt within the food service program, a student will always be permitted to select and receive a regular school meal at the time of meal service if either (1) the student is currently eligible to receive free meals at school, or (2) the student has sufficient funds to pay for the meal on the day the that meal is purchased.

School officials will address any possible abuse of the privilege of charging food service costs and any overuse of the courtesy snack option with the student’s parent or guardian. The ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ may suspend one or both of these privileges if the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ determines that there has been an abuse of the privilege. Indicators of possible abuse include the following: (1) a student has received 15 courtesy snacks in any school year; or (2) a household has repeatedly neglected to pay a negative balance upon reasonable notice.

COMMUNITY ELIGIBILITY PROVISION (CEP) ACCOUNT CHARGES

When/if the district is operating CEP district-wide, the following procedures will be in place:

  1. All students will be allowed to eat a reimbursable breakfast and/or lunch regardless of their account balance.
  2. Elementary school students will be allowed to accrue a negative balance of $5. Once this is reached, ala carte milk will not be allowed to be purchased and milk cards will be pulled. Negative balance notices will be sent home weekly.
  3. Middle and high school students are not allowed to accrue a negative balance. Students must have money in their meal account or provide a deposit at time of purchase in order to purchase ala carte items.

MODIFIED MEALS

Federal laws and regulations governing Child Nutrition Programs expressly require the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ to provide a modified meal, at no extra charge, for a student who has a disability that restricts the student’s diet whenever the need is supported by a sufficient written statement signed by a state-licensed healthcare professional who is authorized to write medical prescriptions. The written statement from the qualified healthcare professional must include the following:

  1. A description of the child’s physical or mental impairment that is sufficient to allow the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ to understand how the impairment restricts the child’s diet; and
  2. An explanation of what must be done to accommodate the disability (for example, identifying the food(s) or ingredient(s) to be avoided, and, to the extent applicable, identifying the choice of foods or ingredients that may be reasonably substituted).

The Medical Statement for Special Dietary Needs is available by contacting the Food Service Department.

If a medical statement is unclear or lacks sufficient detail, ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ staff will seek appropriate clarification from the parent or guardian and/or the healthcare practitioner so that a proper and safe meal can be provided.

Even when the need for a modification is supported by a medical statement, the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ is not necessarily obligated to (1) prepare a specific meal or provide a specific food item that is chosen by the family, or (2) use a particular brand of food or food ingredient. Rather, the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ’s obligation is to offer a reasonable modification that effectively accommodates the child’s disability, while also taking into account factors such as cost and efficiency.

When a request for an individualized meal modification is not supported by adequate documentation (i.e., a qualifying medical statement and/or a sufficiently explicit IEP requirement), the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ may not provide modified meals that do not comply with applicable federal meal pattern requirements and nutrition standards. Further, the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ has no legal obligation to accommodate a student’s or parents or guardian’s general food or dietary preferences or general concerns about health, nutrition, or certain foods. However, when supported by the written request of a medical authority that identifies the special need, the ÁùºÏ²Ê½á¹û½ñÆÚ does offer a federally approved milk substitute for students with special medical or dietary needs other than a disability, i.e. lactose intolerance.