Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Education Committee

HB 1272

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of Bill

Directs the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), through an application-based process, to designate six public schools as demonstration sites to implement and evaluate seated lunch duration procedures for school lunch periods.
Requires the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide technical assistance to the demonstration sites and to report related findings and recommendations.
Directs the Washington State School Directors’ Association to adopt a model policy and procedure related to lunch durations, and authorizes school districts to adopt and enforce policies and procedures consistent with the model policy and procedure.
Authorizes grant funds awarded by the SPI to be used for implementing demonstration sites and adopting and enforcing model policies and procedures.

Background:

Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

In addition to its constitutional charge of supervising all matter pertaining to public schools, the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) and its office has numerous and broad responsibilities prescribed in statute.

Among other financial powers and duties, the SPI is authorized to award grants to school districts to increase participation in school breakfast and lunch programs, improve program quality, and for other permitted uses. The amount of grant funding that may be awarded by the SPI is determined by legislative appropriations.

Washington State School Directors' Association.

Established by statute, the Washington State School Directors' Association (WSSDA) is the state agency that provides advice and assistance to local school boards. The WSSDA is charged with coordinating policymaking, control, and management of the state's school districts. Among other actions, the WSSDA adopts model policies and procedures, often in response to legislative directives, that school districts may adopt.

School Lunch Duration.

Neither federal nor state laws prescribe a minimum duration for school lunches. However, federal regulations adopted by the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture encourages schools to provide sufficient lunch periods that are long enough to give all students adequate time to be served and eat their lunches. Additionally, administrative rules of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) specify that school breakfast and school lunch periods must allow a reasonable amount of time for each child to take care of personal hygiene and enjoy a complete meal.

The Office of the State Auditor (SAO) is conducting a performance audit evaluating elementary school lunch scheduling practices. According to the SAO, the performance audit will seek to answer the following questions:

what lunch scheduling practices could schools implement to achieve better student outcomes, such as improved behavior and increased consumption of healthy foods; and
what barriers prevent schools from implementing these practices?

The audit was requested by the SPI, and the SAO is expecting to publish the results of the audit in early summer 2019.

Summary of Bill:

Demonstration Sites.

The SPI must designate six public schools as demonstration sites to implement and evaluate procedures to ensure that students have a lunch period that:

includes a seated lunch duration of at least 20 minutes for the consumption of their food; and
is reflective of the time spent traveling to and from the location where lunches are served and the time spent obtaining a lunch.

Demonstration sites must be selected through an application process developed by the SPI. The application process must allow schools to identify academic and nonacademic measures that they will monitor as a result of being designated as a demonstration site. A school may not be designated as a demonstration site for less than 90 school days nor more than two school years.

The selected demonstration sites must reflect grade level, student population, and geographic diversity, and may reflect other elements of diversity, including potential demonstration site outcomes, as determined by the SPI. Additionally, the OSPI must provide technical assistance to schools selected as demonstration sites.

Schools designated as demonstration sites must share recommendations, technical guidance, average seated lunch durations before and after implementing new procedures, and best practices with the OSPI and schools or districts seeking to implement similar lunch period procedures.

The OSPI must report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the education committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate by July 1, 2021.

Model Policy and Procedure.

The WSSDA is directed by December 31, 2019, to adopt a model policy and procedures that school districts may use to ensure that students have a lunch period that:

includes a seated lunch duration of at least twenty minutes for the consumption of their food;
is reflective of the time spent traveling to and from the location where lunches are served and the time spent obtaining a lunch; and
incorporates, to the extent appropriate and feasible, pertinent recommendations from the SAO.

By the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, school districts may adopt and enforce policies and procedures consistent with the model policy and procedures required of the WSSDA.

Grant Provisions.

The SPI, subject to funding by the legislature for this purpose, may award grants to school districts to implement demonstration sites selected by the SPI, and to adopt and enforce lunch period policies and procedures consistent with those required of the WSSDA.