BP 3555 — Nutrition Program Compliance

Section: 3000 - Business and Non-Instructional Operations
Status: Active

Adopted: 2018-03-27

Revised: 2024-04-18

Policy text

NUTRITION PROGRAM COMPLIANCE

The Governing Board recognizes the district’s responsibility to comply with state and federal nondiscrimination laws as they apply to the district’s nutrition programs. The district shall not deny any individual the benefits or service of any nutrition program or discriminate against him/her on any basis prohibited by law.

Compliance Coordinator

The Board shall designate a compliance coordinator for nutrition programs, who may also be the compliance officer(s) specified in AR 1312.3 - Uniform Complaint Procedures, to ensure compliance with the laws governing the district’s nutrition programs.

The responsibilities of the compliance officer/coordinator include, but are not limited to:

Providing the name of the civil rights coordinator, Section 504 coordinator, and Title IX coordinator, if different from the civil rights coordinator, to the California Department of Education and other interested parties
Annually providing mandatory civil rights training to all frontline staff who interact with program applicants or participants and to those who supervise frontline staff

The subject matter of such training shall include, but not be limited to, collection and use of data, effective public notification systems, complaint procedures, compliance review techniques, resolution of noncompliance, requirements for reasonable accommodation of persons with disabilities, requirements for language assistance, conflict resolution, and customer service.
Establishing admission and enrollment procedures that do not restrict enrollment of students on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, or disability, including preventing staff from incorrectly denying applications and ensuring that such persons have equal access to all programs
Sending a public release announcing the availability of the child nutrition programs and/or changes in the programs to public media and to community and grassroots organizations that interact directly with eligible or potentially eligible participants
Communicating the program’s nondiscrimination policy and applicable complaint procedures, as provided in the section “Notifications” below
Providing appropriate translation services when a significant number of persons in the surrounding population have limited English proficiency
Ensuring that every part of a facility is accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities and that participants with disabilities are not excluded from the benefits or services due to inaccessibility of facilities
Ensuring that special meals are made available to participants with disabilities who have a medical statement on file documenting that their disability restricts their diet
Implementing procedures to process and resolve civil rights (discrimination) complaints and program-related complaints, including maintaining a complaint log and working with the appropriate person to resolve any complaint
Developing a method, which preferably uses self-identification or self-reporting, to collect racial and ethnic data for potentially eligible populations, applicants, and participants

Notifications

The compliance coordinator shall ensure that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) “And Justice for All” civil rights poster or a substitute poster approved by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service is displayed in areas visible to the district’s nutrition program participants, such as food service areas and school offices.

The compliance coordinator shall notify the public, all program applicants, participants, and potentially eligible persons of their rights and responsibilities and steps necessary to participate in the nutrition programs. Applicants, participants, and the public also shall be advised of their right to file a complaint, how to file a complaint, the complaint procedures, and that a complaint may be filed anonymously or by a third party.

In addition, the compliance coordinator shall ensure that all forms of communication available to the public regarding program availability shall contain, in a prominent location, a statement provided by USDA about the district’s status as an equal opportunity provider and the address of the agency with responsibility to handle complaints made against the district.

Forms of communication requiring this nondiscrimination statement include, but are not limited to, websites, public information releases, publications, and posters, but exclude items such as cups, buttons, magnets, and pens that identify the program when the size or configuration makes it impractical. The nondiscrimination statement need not be included on every page of program information on the district’s or school’s website, but the statement or a link to the statement shall be included on the home page of the program information.

A short version of the nondiscrimination statement, as provided by USDA, may be used on pamphlets, brochures, and flyers in the same print size as the rest of the text.

Complaints of Discrimination

A complaint alleging discrimination in the district’s nutrition program(s) on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or disability shall, within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory act, be filed or referred to USDA at:

mail:

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

1400 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;

phone: (866) 632-9992, (800) 877-8339 (Federal Relay Service - English, deaf, hard of hearing, or speech disabilities)

(800) 845-6136 (Federal Relay Service - Spanish)

fax: (202) 690-7442; or

email: program.intake@usda.gov.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Complaints

Any complaint alleging that the district has not complied with program requirements pertaining to meal counting and claiming, reimbursable meals, eligibility of a child or adult, use of cafeteria funds, and allowable expenses shall be filed with or referred to CDE.

Complaints of non-compliance with any other nutrition program requirements shall be submitted to and investigated by the district using the following procedures.

Complaints may be filed by a student or the student’s parent/guardian by phone, email, or letter. The complaint shall be submitted within one year from the date of the alleged violation and shall include the following:

A statement that the district has violated a law or regulation relating to its child nutrition program
The facts on which the statement is based
The name of the district or the school against which the allegations are made
The complainant’s contact information
The name of the student if alleging violations regarding a specific student

Unless extended by written agreement with the complainant, the district’s compliance coordinator shall investigate the complaint and prepare a written report to be sent to the complainant within 60 days of the district’s receipt of the complaint.