New Laws will Require Charter Schools to Provide Meals, Sexual Health Education

Lozano Smith Client News Brief
October 2018
Number 57

The Legislature has expanded requirements for charter schools in 2019. Assembly Bill (AB) 1871 will require charter schools to provide meals to needy students, while AB 2601 will require charters to provide sexual health education to students in grades 7-12.

Assembly Bill 1871

Starting on July 1, 2019, AB 1871 will require California charter schools to provide needy students with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced price meal each day. Charter schools were previously exempt from this state mandate. This change will be reflected by adding Education Code section 47613.5. Non-classroom based charter schools will be required to provide free and reduced price meals to eligible students on days when the students are scheduled for two or more hours of educational activities at a charter school facility.

For charter schools that become operational July 1, 2019, implementation of this requirement must occur no later than July 1 of the following school year.

Assembly Bill 2601

Starting on July 1, 2019, charter schools will be required to provide sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education to students in grades 7-12. Current law mandates that this sexual health education and HIV prevention education be provided to students in grades 7-12 in traditional schools. Charter schools, however, were exempt from this curriculum requirement. Again, the Legislature has now decided that providing sexual health and HIV prevention education to students in California schools outweighs the objective to provide freedom and flexibility to charter schools in developing their curriculums. This change will be reflected in Education Code section 51931.

Takeaways

Charter authorizers may want to explore the planned strategies of the charter schools they oversee to implement these two new mandates.

If you have any questions about AB 1871 or AB 2601 or about laws applicable to charter schools in general, please contact the authors of this Client News Brief or an attorney at one of our eight offices located statewide. You can also visit our website, follow us on Facebook or Twitter or download our Client News Brief App.
 
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As the information contained herein is necessarily general, its application to a particular set of facts and circumstances may vary. For this reason, this News Brief does not constitute legal advice. We recommend that you consult with your counsel prior to acting on the information contained herein.