Requiring that School Establish Meal Times and Provide Nutritionally Adequate Food to Pupils During Breakfast and Lunch

S.B. 153 is the 2024 California education omnibus bill, which allocates $120 million for school kitchen infrastructure and equipment upgrades. It supports the state’s fully funded school meals for all program by requiring monthly direct certification through CALPADS, setting a 40% poverty threshold for required participation in the federal Community Eligibility Provision or Provision 2, and developing an electronic Student Benefit Form to streamline federal meal reimbursements and Local Control Funding Formula processes. The bill also mandates a review to ensure students have adequate time to eat school meals, with recommendations due by June 2025.