A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require charter schools to provide transportation and food services to low‑income students.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑238.29B(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	The application shall contain at least the following information:
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(15)	The school's plans for providing transportation. The school shall develop a plan for transportation for any student enrolled in the charter school who resides within three miles of the charter school and whose household income makes the student eligible for the free and reduced lunch program as established by the federal government.
(16)	The school's plans for providing food services. The school shall develop a plan for food services for any student enrolled in the charter school whose household income makes the student eligible for the free and reduced lunch program as established by the federal government."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 115C‑238.29F reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑238.29F.  General requirements.
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(h)	Transportation. – The charter school may provide transportation for students enrolled at the school. The charter school shall provide transportation for any student enrolled in the charter school who resides within three miles of the charter school and whose household income makes the student eligible for the free and reduced lunch program as established by the federal government. At the request of the charter school and if the local board of the local school administrative unit in which the charter school is located operates a school bus system, then that local board may contract with the charter school to provide transportation in accordance with the charter school's transportation plan to students who reside in the local school administrative unit and who reside at least one and one‑half miles from the charter school. A local board may charge the charter school a reasonable charge that is sufficient to cover the cost of providing this transportation. Furthermore, a local board may refuse to provide transportation under this subsection if it demonstrates there is no available space on buses it intends to operate during the term of the contract or it would not be practically feasible to provide this transportation.
(h1)	Food Services. – The charter school shall provide food services to students whose household income makes the student eligible for the free and reduced lunch program as established by the federal government. The State Board of Education may waive this requirement upon a showing of financial hardship by the charter school. In the operation of their food service programs, charter schools may participate in the National School Lunch Program established by the federal government. The program shall be under the jurisdiction of the Division of School Support, Child Nutrition Services of the Department of Public Instruction, and shall be operated in accordance with federal guidelines as established by the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.
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SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies only to charter schools granted a new or renewed charter on or after July 1, 2013.