(1) Any school district approved by the state superintendent may establish a system to provide the opportunity for authorized elderly persons to participate in its school lunch program. If a school board desires to establish such a service, it shall develop a plan for the provision of food services for elderly persons and submit the plan to the state superintendent. Upon petition of 5 percent of the voters in the school district who voted in the last school board election, the school board shall formulate a food services plan, provided that hot food service facilities are available to school children in the district. (2) Each plan shall provide at least one meal per day for each day that school is in regular session. The school board may provide additional service at other times in its discretion, if the number of eligible persons in the district or adjacent districts is of sufficient size, in the opinion of the state superintendent, so that unwarranted production expense is not incurred. (3) Any school board which operates a food services plan for elderly persons under this section shall make facilities available for service to elderly persons at every high school and junior high school in the district which provides hot food service to its students. Upon application, the state superintendent may grant exceptions from compliance with this subsection for reasons of safety, convenience or insufficient interest in a given neighborhood. The school board may, in addition, provide service at elementary schools if desired. (4) Meals may be served at schools where they are served to students or at any site more convenient to the majority of authorized elderly persons interested in the service. Food may be transported to authorized elderly persons who are unable to leave their homes or distributed to nonprofit organizations for such purposes. However, no state funds under this section may be used for food delivery to individual homes. The state superintendent may require consolidation of programs between districts and between schools if such a procedure will be convenient and economical. (5) The school board may file a claim with the department for reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred, excluding capital equipment costs, but not to exceed 15 percent of the cost of the meal or 50 cents per meal, whichever is less. Any cost in excess of the lesser amount may be charged to participants. If the department approves the claim, it shall certify that payment is due and the secretary of administration shall pay the claim from the appropriation under s. 20.255 (2) (cn). (6) All meals served must meet the approval of the state superintendent who shall establish minimum nutritional standards not inconsistent with federal standards and reasonable expenditure limits such that the average cost per meal is not excessive. The state superintendent shall give special consideration to dietary problems of elderly persons in formulating a nutritional plan. However, no school board shall be required to provide special foods for individual persons with allergies or medical disorders. (7) Participants in a program under this section may be required to document their Wisconsin residency in a manner approved by the department. The state superintendent may issue identification cards to such persons if necessary. (7m) A private school or tribal school may establish a food services plan for elderly persons. If the plan meets all of the requirements of this section and is approved by the state superintendent, the private school or tribal school is eligible for reimbursement in the same manner as school districts under sub. (5). (8) The state superintendent shall adopt reasonable rules necessary to implement this section. (9) In this section, “authorized elderly person” means any resident of the state who is 60 years of age or more, or the spouse of any such person. A school board may admit nonresident persons who would otherwise qualify into its program except that no state funds under this section may be used to subsidize any portion of the meals served to such persons.
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