DC Code § 38-821.02 (2021)
2021 District of Columbia Code|Title 38 - Educational Institutions|Chapter 8A - Healthy Schools|Subchapter I - Definitions; Establishment of Healthy Schools Fund|§ 38-821.02. Establishment of the Healthy Schools Fund

 *NOTE: This section has been amended by emergency legislation with identical permanent legislation that will become effective in January, 2022.*  (a) There is established as a nonlapsing fund the Healthy Schools Fund (“Fund”), which shall be used solely as provided in subsection (c) of this section and administered by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. The Fund shall be funded by annual appropriations, which shall be deposited into the Fund. (b) All funds deposited into the Fund, and any interest earned on those funds, shall not revert to the unrestricted fund balance of the General Fund of the District of Columbia at the end of a fiscal year, or at any other time, but shall be continually available for the uses and purposes set forth in subsection (c) of this section without regard to fiscal year limitation, subject to authorization by Congress. (c) The funds in the Fund shall be used as follows: (1) To provide additional funding for healthy school meals, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education shall reimburse public schools, public charter schools, participating private schools, and organizations participating in the Summer Food Service Program as follows: (A) Twenty cents for each breakfast meal served that meets the requirements of §§ 38-822.02 and 38-822.03; and (B) Ten cents for each lunch meal served that meets the requirements of §§ 38-822.02 and 38-822.03. (2) Repealed. (3) To eliminate the reduced-price copayment under § 38-822.03(b)(1), the Office of the State Superintendent of Education shall reimburse public schools, public charter schools, and participating private schools, for each lunch meal that meets the requirements of §§ 38-822.02 and 38-822.03 and is served to a student who qualifies for reduced-price meals, the greater of: (A) Forty cents; or (B) The difference between the U.S. Department of Agriculture reimbursement rate for a free lunch and a reduced-price lunch. (4) Repealed. (4A)(A) To provide resources to implement alternative breakfast serving models, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education shall provide an annual subsidy of $2 per student to public schools, public charter schools, and participating private schools that implement an approved alternative breakfast serving model. (B) Schools shall use funds received pursuant to this paragraph to purchase equipment and supplies needed to operate the alternative breakfast serving model. (5)(A) To encourage local foods to be served in schools, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education shall provide an additional 5 cents per day reimbursement to public schools, public charter schools, and participating private schools when at least one component of a reimbursable breakfast or lunch meal is comprised entirely of locally grown and unprocessed foods; provided, that the schools report the name and address of the farms where the locally grown foods were grown to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. (B) For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “locally grown and unprocessed foods” shall not include milk. (6) To increase physical activity in schools, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education may issue grants through a competitive process or a formula grants process to public schools, public charter schools, or organizations that provide technical assistance to public schools or public charter schools to increase the amount of physical activity in schools; provided, that a school receiving a grant pursuant to this paragraph shall seek to: (A) Meet the requirements of § 38-824.02; and (B) Increase the amount of physical activity in which its students engage. (7) To support school gardens or promote health education, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education shall make grants available, subject to the availability of funds in the Fund, through a competitive process or a formula grants process to public schools, public charter schools, and other organizations. (8) To support the development and implementation of an Environmental Literacy Program established in § 38-825.02. (9) To increase nutrition education in schools, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education shall make grants available, subject to the availability of funds in the Fund, through either a competitive grant process or a formula grants process, to public schools, public charter schools, and organizations that provide technical assistance to public schools and public charter schools to incorporate nutrition education into the school day. (10) To increase cafeteria staff's abilities to provide healthy meals for students, the Office of the State Superintendent for Education may issue grants through a competitive process or a formula grants process to public schools, public charter schools, or other organizations for the acquisition of school kitchen equipment and for providing training sessions on cooking skills and nutrition for school cafeteria workers and school food service vendors. (11) To decrease food and food packaging waste at schools and provide greater food access to those in need, the Office of the State Superintendent for Education may issue grants through a competitive process or a formula grants process to local education agencies, schools, nonprofit organizations, or partnerships developed among schools or with nonprofit organizations to support efforts to address food and food packaging waste, including implementation and management of share tables, purchase or provision of reusable food service ware, including from third-party reusable food service ware providers, and other food waste and food waste packaging reduction programs. (d) The Office of the State Superintendent of Education may, by rule, increase the amounts, as set forth in subsection (c) of this section, to further improve the quality and nutrition of school meals. (e) The Office of the State Superintendent of Education may withhold local funds provided by subsection (c) of this section from public schools and public charter schools that do not meet any or all of the requirements of §§ 38-822.02, 38-822.03, 38-822.05, and 38-822.06. (f) Beginning on October 1, 2021, an amount of $5,690,000 from the revenues derived from the collection of the tax imposed upon all vendors by § 47-2002 shall be deposited annually into the Fund. (g) All excess monies remaining in the Fund on May 31 each year shall be administered by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education for the purposes set forth in subsection (c)(6), (7), and (8) of this section, and to further improve health, wellness, and nutrition in schools.  (July 27, 2010, D.C. Law 18-209, § 102, 57 DCR 4779; Apr. 8, 2011, D.C. Law 18-370, § 412, 58 DCR 1008; Sept. 14, 2011, D.C. Law 19-21, § 4012, 58 DCR 6226; Oct. 20, 2011, D.C. Law 19-37, § 2(b), 58 DCR 6841; Sept. 20, 2012, D.C. Law 19-168, § 4062(a), 59 DCR 8025; Dec. 17, 2014, D.C. Law 20-142, § 311(a), 61 DCR 8045; Dec. 13, 2017, D.C. Law 22-33, § 6112(b), 64 DCR 7652; July 3, 2018, D.C. Law 22-124, § 106, 65 DCR 5091; Oct. 30, 2018, D.C. Law 22-168, § 4032, 65 DCR 9388; Mar. 13, 2019, D.C. Law 22-240, § 2(b), 66 DCR 912; Sept. 11, 2019, D.C. Law 23-16, §§ 4142, 7160, 66 DCR 8621; Dec. 3, 2020, D.C. Law 23-149, § 4062, 67 DCR 10493; Mar. 16, 2021, D.C. Law 23-211, § 4(b), 68 DCR 00068; Aug. 23, 2021, D.C. Act 24-159, § 4242(a), 68 DCR 008602.)  Section References This section is referenced in § 38-821.01. Effect of Amendments D.C. Law 18-370, in subsecs. (c)(6) and (7), substituted “shall make grants available, subject to the availability of funds in the Fund,” for “shall make grants available”. D.C. Law 19-21 repealed subsec. (c)(2); and added subsecs. (f) and (g). Prior to repeal, subsec. (c)(2) formerly read as follows: “(2) To provide free breakfast meals in public charter schools under § 38-822.03(a), the Office of the State Superintendent of Education shall reimburse public charter schools as follows:” D.C. Law 19-37, in subsecs. (c)(1) and (3), substituted “public schools, public charter schools, and participating private schools” for “public schools and public charter schools”; and rewrote subsec. (c)(5), which formerly read: “(5) To encourage local foods to be served in schools, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education shall provide an additional 5 cents per lunch meal reimbursement to public schools and public charter schools when at least one component of a reimbursable lunch meal is comprised entirely of locally grown and unprocessed foods; provided, that the schools report the name and address of the farms where the locally grown foods were grown to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.” The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-168 added “and organizations participating in the Summer Food Service Program” in the introductory language of (c)(1); added “that meets the requirements of §§ 38-822.02 and 38-822.03 and is” in (c)(3); in (c)(4), substituted “§ 38-822.03(a)(2)” for “§ 38-822.03(a)(2), for the 2010-2011 school year,” added “a onetime subsidy of,” and substituted “new public schools, new public charter schools, and new private schools that have not previously received the funds and that participate” for “public schools and public charter schools participating”; added “any or all of” in (e); and added “and to further improve health, wellness, and nutrition in schools” in (g). The 2014 amendment by D.C. Law 20-142 added (c)(8); and substituted “subsection (c)(6), (7), and (8) of this section” for “subsection (c)(6), and (7) of this section” in (g). Applicability Applicability of D.C. Law 23-211: § 6 of D.C. Law 23-211 provided that the change made to this section by § 4(b) of D.C. Law 23-211 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.  Applicability of D.C. Law 22-240: § 7160 of D.C. Law 23-16 repealed § 3 of D.C. Law 22-240. Therefore the amendment of this section by D.C. Law 22-240 has been implemented.  Applicability of D.C. Law 22-240: § 3 of D.C. Law 22-240 provided that the change made to this section by § 2(b) of D.C. Law 22-240 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented. Section 301 of D.C. Law 22-124 provided that the changes made to this section by D.C. Law 22-124 shall apply as of October 1, 2017.  Emergency Legislation  For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 4242(a) of Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2021 (D.C. Act 24-159, Aug. 23, 2021, 68 DCR 008602).   For temporary (90 days) repeal of applicability provision of D.C. Law 22-240, see § 7160 of Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2019 (D.C. Act 23-112, Sept. 4, 2019, 66 DCR 11964).   For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 4142 of Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2019 (D.C. Act 23-112, Sept. 4, 2019, 66 DCR 11964).   For temporary (90 days) repeal of applicability provision of D.C. Law 22-240, see § 7160 of Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2019 (D.C. Act 23-91, July 22, 2019, 66 DCR 8497).   For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 4142 of Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2019 (D.C. Act 23-91, July 22, 2019, 66 DCR 8497).   For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 4032 of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-458, Oct. 3, 2018, 65 DCR 11212).   For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 4032 of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-434, July 30, 2018, 65 DCR 8200).   For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 104 of Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-213, Dec. 20, 2017, 64 DCR 13422).   For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 6112(b) of Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-167, Oct. 24, 2017, 64 DCR 10802).   For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 101(b) of Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-163, Oct. 23, 2017, 64 DCR 10778).   For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 6112(b) of Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-104, July 20, 2017, 64 DCR 7032).  For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 412 of Fiscal Year 2011 Supplemental Budget Support Emergency Act of 2010 (D.C. Act 18-694, January 19, 2011, 58 DCR 662). For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 4012 of Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2011 (D.C. Act 19-93, June 29, 2011, 58 DCR 5599). For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of Healthy Schools Emergency Amendment Act of 2011 (D.C. Act 19-143, August 9, 2011, 58 DCR 6814). For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 4062(a) of Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-383, June 19, 2012, 59 DCR 7764). For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 4062(a) of Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-413, July 25, 2012, 59 DCR 9290). Temporary Legislation  For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 104 of Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2017 (D.C. Law 22-44, Jan. 25, 2018, 64 DCR 12387).  Short Title Short title: Section 411 of D.C. Law 18-370 provided that subtitle B of title IV of the act may be cited as “Healthy Schools Amendment Act of 2010”. Short title: Section 4011 of D.C. Law 19-21 provided that subtitle B of title IV of the act may be cited as “Healthy Schools Technical Amendment Act of 2011”. Editor's Notes Section 4063 of D.C. Law 19-168 provided that § 4062 of the act shall apply as of June 20, 2012. Applicability of D.C. Law 20-142: Section 502(e) of D.C. Law 20-142 provided that § 311 of the act shall apply as of December 17, 2014.