Rules and Regulations

  1. Law
  2. Tennessee Code
  3. Education
  4. Elementary and Secondary Education
  5. Tennessee School Nutrition Standards Act
  6. Rules and Regulations

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The commissioner of education shall recommend and the state board of education shall adopt rules that:

  1. Establish minimum nutrition requirements for school breakfast and school lunch programs;
  2. Establish standards of income eligibility for free or reduced price meals for disadvantaged children;
  3. Prescribe uniform methods for determining eligibility for free or reduced price meals;
  4. Require that each school board establish a method to regularly notify students and parents of the availability of free or reduced price meals and to encourage participation in the breakfast program;
  5. Establish a uniform reporting system for the collection and compilation of data on the administration of this part, including a report on each individual school, regardless of its participation;
  6. Require each local school board to submit to the commissioner a plan for compliance with this part sixty (60) days prior to the beginning of the school year. For each subsequent school year, require each local school board to submit modifications to the plan sixty (60) days prior to the beginning of the school year. The plan for compliance shall:
    1. Require that availability of local agriculture products, freshness and transportation cost be considered;
    2. Allow flexible bidding processes to assist farmers to bid competitively on portions of a given nutrition plan, rather than an entire nutrition plan; and
    3. Require that all food provided for public school use meet or exceed food safety standards for commercial food operations;
  7. Require each local school board to certify to the commissioner compliance with the plan as submitted or modified within thirty (30) days after the beginning of the school year;
  8. Provide that compliance with the standards and requirements of the federal National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 1751-1769), and the federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. §§ 1771-1789), shall be deemed compliance with these requirements;
  9. Permit, in accordance with federal requirements, reimbursement for supervision of students participating in a meals program required by this part;
  10. Allow the local school board to waive the requirements of § 49-6-2302(a)(2), for any individual school for each year that the board determines at a public meeting of the board, with notice and right to be heard, to any person who has, in writing, requested to be notified of the consideration of such waivers:
    1. That the implementation of a school breakfast program would cause an unavoidable and unreasonable disruption of schedule that would substantially impair the ability of the school to maintain a proper educational program;
    2. The cumulative annualized participation in the school breakfast program is less than fifty (50) students and the school has complied with § 49-6-2302(a)(2); or
    3. That the implementation of the program would cause the expenditure of state or local education funds for which reimbursement under the federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966 is unavailable or inadequate;
  11. Not permit the limitation of the full six and one-half (6½) hours instructional school time required by statute; and
  12. Provide that the established work day of licensed personnel shall not, without compensation, be lengthened as a result of this part and that the principal not be in charge of the lunch program in any county where a system-wide school food service manager is available, unless the local board of education specifically provides for a principal to be in charge of the lunch program.


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