South Carolina § 59-63-795 - Increased access to free school breakfast and lunches for students in poverty.

§ 59-63-795. Increased access to free school breakfast and lunches for students in poverty.

(A) Each public school district annually shall identify the number of its students who live in poverty and increase access to free school breakfasts and lunches for these students. This number must be obtained from the annual State Aide to Classrooms formulation in the annual state budget. For purposes of this section, "students in poverty" means students who:

(1) qualify for Medicaid benefits;

(2) qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits;

(3) qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits; or

(4) are homeless, transient, or in foster care.

(B) The local board of trustees of a district in which all schools are eligible to receive the free federal reimbursement rate for all reimbursable school breakfasts and lunches served, pursuant to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) in Section 1759(a) of Title 42 of the United States Code, shall adopt a resolution indicating its degree of participation, if any, in CEP. If a district is unable to participate in CEP because participation would cause a financial hardship, its board shall adopt a resolution stating that it is unable to participate in CEP and demonstrate the financial hardship. The resolution must be published on a public meeting agenda concurrently with the proposed district budget as an action item. A majority of the board members is required to approve any resolution under this subsection. The requirements of this subsection shall be suspended if CEP is suspended or discontinued by federal action.

(C) A district shall ensure that the parents or guardians of students eligible for free and reduced lunch receive the necessary applications and instructions and, upon request, are provided with assistance in completing the paperwork. If a student is unable to pay for a meal or accrues meal debt, the student's district or school may not publicly identify or penalize the student in any way including, but not limited to, denying meals, serving alternative meals, discarding meals after serving them to the student, requiring chores or work in exchange for meals, prohibiting participation in extracurricular activities, denying participation in graduation, withholding diplomas, or refusing transcript requests. Communications from the district or school regarding any meal debt owed only may be directed to the parent or guardian of the student and may be sent home through the student.

HISTORY: 2025 Act No. 23 (S.425), SECTION 1, eff May 8, 2025.