West Virginia Code of State Rules
Agency 126 - Education
Title 126 - PROCEDURAL RULE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Series 126-085 - POLICIES OF OPERATION MANUAL - CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS (4320)
Section 126-85-12 - Dietary Exceptions
Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 38, September 20, 2024
12.1. USDA regulations 7 CFR-220.8(f) require that schools shall make substitutions in foods for students with a disability. A child with a disability, as defined in 7 CFR Part 15b, is one who has "...a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities..." Major life activities include the diet. Schools also may make substitutions for non-disabled students who are unable to consume the regular breakfast because of medical or other special dietary needs.
12.2. Substitutions shall be made on a case-by-case basis only when supported by a statement of the need for substitutions that include recommended alternate foods unless otherwise exempted by FNS. Such statements shall, in the case of a student with a disability, be signed by a physician or, in the case of a student with special needs, by a recognized medical authority. The statement must be maintained on file in the school and available for audit. The statement must be updated each year. Prototype letters that may serve for these medical statements are available from the Office of Child Nutrition.
12.3. Regulations allow for certain other variations in the food components of the basic meal requirements on an experimental or continuing basis in schools where there is specific evidence that such variations are nutritionally sound and are necessary to meet ethnic, religious, economic or physical needs. However, these exceptions must be granted by the FNS, USDA, Washington, D.C.
12.4. Any deviation from the required meal pattern other than those described above must be approved in writing by the WVDE or a WVDE Coordinator.
