Management Bulletin
Purpose: Policy, Beneficial Information
To: Child Nutrition Program Sponsors
Attention: Food Service Directors and Chief Business Officials
Number: CNP-09-2015
Date: July 2015
This Management Bulletin (MB) provides guidance on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Policy Memorandum SP 31-2015, CACFP 12-2015, and SFSP 14-2015: Prohibition of Separation by Gender During Child Nutrition Program Meal Service. This policy memo explains this prohibition and outlines select circumstances under which gender-based separation may be permissible.
School food authorities (SFA), organizations, and institutions participating in any of the following federal child nutrition programs (CNP) are affected by this guidance: National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Special Milk Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). These include any schools, child or adult care institutions and facilities, camps, residential child care institutions, and other sites as defined in Title 7,
Code of Federal Regulations (7
CFR), sections 210.2, 215.2, 225.2, and 226.2, which provide meal service as a program activity.
Background
SFAs, institutions, and organizations participating in the CNPs are not permitted to separate children on any protected basis during the service of program meals or snacks as outlined in 7
CFR, Parts 15, 15a, and 15b. Federal law prohibits discrimination based on gender at any educational institution receiving federal assistance.
Exceptions to the Prohibition on Gender-separated Meal Service
For coeducational schools and school-based sites:
The USDA Food and Nutrition Service recognizes religious exemptions granted by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) without prior express approval for coeducational schools and school-based sites. USDE guidelines allow coeducational schools and school-based sites to apply for an exemption when federal law prohibiting gender separation is inconsistent with the institution’s religious tenets.
Although USDE guidelines allow for the approval of gender-separate instruction at public primary and secondary nonvocational schools, a coeducational school may not use these guidelines to justify blanket gender separation during meal service.
For other institutions and organizations:
The California Department of Education (CDE) may approve exemptions allowing separation by gender during a CNP meal service for participating SFAs, organizations, and institutions–without express prior approval from the USDA, in the following circumstances:
- Meal service at religious institutions operating under the dictates of the religion with which they are affiliated
- Meal service at juvenile correctional facilities where combining members of the opposite gender would present a potential safety risk
- Meal service at facilities that fully separate by gender as part of their normal operations (for example, gender-separated summer camps)
The above listed exemptions are the only acceptable bases for gender separation during CNP meal service. Any gender separation not based on the USDE or USDA approval exemptions is strictly prohibited. Situations that do not clearly fit into any of the exemptions outlined above may be considered by the CDE on a case-by-case basis.
Exemption Requests
CNP sponsors must complete a Gender Separation Request, Form ID CNP-02, to request gender separation during CNP meal service. The sponsor must specify which of the above-listed reasons qualifies the agency for gender separation and why this request is necessary. Form ID CNP-02 is located in the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS) Download Forms section. Completed forms can be submitted to your School Nutrition Program (SNP), CACFP, or SFSP specialist.
Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding this MB, please contact your CACFP specialist.