In accordance with Section 2, Part B of Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2018, beginning in the 2018-2019 school year, and continuing every year thereafter, all public elementary or secondary schools with at least seventy percent or more of its students eligible for free or reduced-price meals under the federal National School Lunch Program are required to offer all students a school breakfast after the instructional day has begun, “Breakfast After the Bell.”   The schools meeting 70 percent free and reduced price were determined by the State Education Department (SED) based upon data submitted through the basic educational data system (BEDS) for the prior school year, namely the 2017-2018 school year.

The list of schools required to offer Breakfast After the Bell for the 2019-2020 school year can be found in Excel or PDF.

Each public school required to implement Breakfast After the Bell will determine the breakfast service delivery model that best suits its students.  Service delivery models may include, but are not limited to, breakfast in the classroom, grab and go breakfast, and second chance breakfast, which would include breakfast served in the cafeteria.  Time spent by students consuming breakfast may be considered instructional time when students consume breakfast in the students' classrooms and instruction is being provided while students are consuming breakfast.  In determining a service delivery model, schools will consult with teachers, parents, students and members of the community.

Schools subject to this requirement are required to notify students, parents and guardians that the school will be offering breakfast to all students after the instructional day has begun.

Schools may apply, on an annual basis, to SED for a waiver from providing Breakfast After the Bell. Waivers will be granted by SED on a case by case basis upon the school demonstrating:

1. A lack of need for Breakfast After the Bell because of a successful existing breakfast program; or
2. The implementation of Breakfast After the Bell would cause economic hardship for the school.

Waiver requests for the 2019-2020 school year must be received by September 30, 2019.  Complete the request form found here to request a waiver.

All schools participating in the School Breakfast Program will be required to provide information on breakfast service delivery methods, by site, during the Child Nutrition Program Annual Renewal Process.  This information will be used to publish a report at the conclusion of the 2019-2020 school year on the success of Breakfast After the Bell, but will also include all schools participating in the School Breakfast Program.  This report will be published by December 1, 2020, and each December 1 thereafter.

Non-competitive grants were made available to all schools required to implement a Breakfast After the Bell Program in the 2018-2019 school year. Schools that did not receive the full entitlement of $5,000 per eligible school may still apply for funding if the school is required to implement a Breakfast After the Bell Program again in the 2019-2020 school year. The funding is not available for those schools that are newly required to implement a Breakfast After the Bell Program in the 2019-2020 school year.  A school that submitted a waiver request for the 2018-2019 school year, and is on the 2019-2020 mandatory list and will be operating a BAB during the 2019-2020 school year, is eligible to receive the $5,000 grant funding.  Additional information regarding the grants is posted in the memo: Equipment Funding for Schools Required to Implement a Breakfast After the Bell Program.