In this month's article, we share some of our top "bites" for the prior and current month covered during the August 2024 webinar....more
The CFPB’s latest focus on consumer fees is targeting payment processors for school lunches. The CFPB says that families who choose to purchase school lunches are being forced to pay fees to companies that process their...more
On July 25, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report on the costs and potential risks to families using electronic payment platforms to load money to their children’s school lunch accounts. The...more
On July 25, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released an Issue Spotlight focusing on the fees associated with electronic payment platforms used by school districts to process school lunch payments. In...more
The CFPB recently released a report on payment processing companies that manage school lunch payments for school districts. The companies, the report argues, cater to a captive market and often impose transaction fees that...more
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) recently issued a final rule to update its school nutrition standards, requiring changes to school meal programs starting in the 2025-2026 school...more
For several years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) has been working to revise the dietary requirements for the National School Lunch Program (“NSLP”) and other federally funded school meal programs. On February 7,...more
At its March 10, 2023 meeting, the General Assembly’s Education Committee began the process of approving bills. The following is a brief summary of the bills that the Committee voted favorably on and advanced out of...more
FREE SCHOOL LUNCH - Thursday night, the House passed a bill (HF5) to provide free breakfast and lunch in schools to all K-12 students. The bill, which has a price tag of about $200 million, now heads to the Senate for a...more
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert M. Califf announced in a Jan. 31 statement that the agency intends to reorganize its Human Foods Program and Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) after receiving the...more
Happy New Year! Several Illinois laws related to schools became effective January 1, 2023, and our team at Franczek P.C. has compiled them in its new School Law Legislative Update, focused on new laws in effect in 2023. A PDF...more
The 2022 Regular Session of the Connecticut General Assembly concluded on May 4, 2022. The following is a brief description of acts that were passed by the General Assembly that may be of interest to Connecticut’s K-12...more
On May 5, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) announced an update to its complaint processing policy. FNS will now interpret the prohibition on sex discrimination as...more
USDA recently issued a final rule establishing transitional nutrition standards for sodium, whole grains, and fluid milk in school meals. The new standards will take effect for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school year. USDA...more
Earlier this evening, the House passed the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act (H.R.8337) with broad bipartisan support 359-57, extending current federal funding levels through Dec. 11, 2020. ...more
In Washington - White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Tuesday said that there has been “real progress” in talks with congressional Democrats and Republicans on coronavirus relief legislation. ...more
A recent court decision struck down a 2018 final rule by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), which had relaxed sodium and whole grains requirements for the National School Lunch...more
President Trump signed into law on Wednesday night the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”) following a 90-8 vote by the Senate earlier in the day. The Act provides paid sick leave to American workers affected...more
Receiving free or reduced school breakfasts or lunches would not render immigrant children ineligible for green cards or other immigration benefits, despite changes to longstanding guidance on the public charge of...more
Effective April 12, 2018, Education Law § 908, entitled “Prohibition against meal shaming,” was added as part of the budget to require all public school districts, charter schools and non-public schools in New York state...more
In August 2016, Governor Rauner signed Public Act 099-0850 creating the “Breakfast After the Bell” program. Historically, schools have provided breakfast prior to the start of the school day. However, the traditional model...more
Has your district finished its 2016 homework? Is the date June 30, 2017, circled on your calendar? If not, maybe it should be because June 30, 2017, is the deadline by which all local educational agencies that participate...more