New Jersey Statutes Title 18A. Education 18A § 33-14.1

a. (1) Each school district or nonpublic school that participates in the National School Lunch Program or the federal School Breakfast Program shall take steps to maximize the use of federal resources and to minimize the debt that is incurred by families for school meals, in accordance with a protocol established by the Department of Agriculture. The protocol established by the department, pursuant to this paragraph, shall be adopted within 180 days after the effective date of P.L.2022, c. 104 (C.18A:33-3.2 et al.), in consultation with the Department of Education, the School Nutrition Association of New Jersey, and all relevant stakeholders, shall be reviewed and updated on at least an annual basis thereafter, and shall provide for participating school districts and nonpublic schools to: (a) promote the prompt and accurate subsidized meals certification of all eligible students enrolled therein, in accordance with the provisions of P.L.2022, c. 104 (C.18A:33-3.2 et al.); and (b) identify best practices to maximize the receipt and use of federal resources by the district's schools.

(2) The Department of Agriculture and Department of Education, in cooperation with each other, shall consult with, and provide direct assistance to, participating school districts and nonpublic schools to help them improve, simplify, and expedite the subsidized school meals certification process and otherwise reduce the administrative burden on schools and school districts that results from such process.

(3) A school that serves lunch or breakfast to students and is eligible for special federal reimbursement under the Community Eligibility Provision, as provided by 7 C.F.R. Part 245, shall, to the greatest extent practicable, participate in, and maximize the receipt of federal resources available under, that special assistance alternative. Every school district in which there is at least one school that qualifies for the Community Eligibility Provision, but is not implementing it, shall report the reasons therefor, in writing, to the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Education, in the manner prescribed by those departments. The report shall include, but need not be limited to, a description of the specific impediments at the school district to implementing the program, the specific actions that could be taken to remove those impediments, and the specific steps required to successfully implement the program in the following school year.