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This bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to establish a letter grading system, similar to the one used for restaurants, for sanitary conditions of school cafeterias and kitchens. The Department of Education (DOE) would be required to post letter grades in a publicly visible location near the front entrances and cafeteria entrances of schools, and to post inspection results and letter grades of school cafeterias and kitchens on its website. DOE would also be required to inform parents and legal guardians of school children that such information is available on the website, and to inform parents and guardians of the school cafeteria’s letter grade on no less than an annual basis and promptly inform parents and legal guardians whenever a letter grade of C or below is issued.

  • Filed (End of Session)

History

City Council
Filed (End of Session)
City Council
Referred to Comm by Council
City Council
Introduced by Council

Proposed Int. No. 1013-A

 

By Council Members Salamanca, Yeger, Holden and Borelli

 

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring letter grades for food service establishments operated in schools, and to repeal section 23-702 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as added by local law number 112 of 2017, in relation to the results of inspections of food service establishments operated in schools

 

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

 

Section 1. Chapter 15 of title 17 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 17-1506 as follows:

§ 17-1506 Sanitary inspection grading for school food service establishments. a. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the term “school food service establishment” means a cafeteria or kitchen in a school that is subject to the provisions of article 81 of title 24 of the New York city health code. 

b. The department shall establish and implement a system for grading and classifying inspection results for each school food service establishment using letters to identify and represent a school food service establishment’s degree of compliance with laws and rules that require such school food service establishment to operate in a sanitary manner to protect public health. Where practicable, such system shall be implemented in a manner consistent with the implementation of the letter grading program established by the department for food service establishments pursuant to section 81.51 of the New York city health code.

§ 2. Section 23-702 of chapter 7 of title 23 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as added by local law number 112 for the year 2017, is repealed.

§ 3. Section 23-702 of chapter 7 of title 23 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as added by chapter 313 for the year 2017, is amended to read as follows:

§ 23-702 [School cafeteria and kitchen inspection data.] School food service establishment inspection results and letter grades. a. [Whenever any cafeteria or kitchen in a school of  the  city  school  district  is inspected  by  the  department  of  health  and mental hygiene, the city school district shall post the following information on its website:

    1.                      the date of the inspection or reinspection;

    2.                      the name and address of the school where the inspected cafeteria or

                       kitchen is located;

    3.                      the facts established observed  violations,  if  any,  during  such

                       inspection and the severity level of such violations;

    4.                      citations  to  the  laws,  regulations or rules for any violations

                       observed during such inspection; and

    5.                      any corrective actions taken in response to such inspection.]

Definitions.  For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

                     Letter grade. The term “letter grade” means the sanitary inspection grade issued by the department of health and mental hygiene pursuant to section 17-1506.

                     School food service establishment.  The term “school food service establishment” has the same meaning as set forth in section 17-506.

                     [b. Inspection results posted on the website for the city department of education pursuant to this section shall be searchable by the school name and address.]

                     b. Whenever a school food service establishment in the city school district is inspected by the department of health and mental hygiene, the department of education shall post the following information on its website: (i) the date of the inspection or re-inspection; (ii) the name and address of the school where the school food service establishment is located; (iii) the letter grade issued to the school food service establishment; (iv) the facts establishing observed violations, if any, during  such inspection and the severity level of such violations; (v) citations to the laws, regulations or rules for any violations observed during such inspection; and (vi) any corrective actions taken in response to such inspection.

                     c. At least once every school year, the principal of every school of the city school district [where students use a cafeteria or kitchen] in which there is a school food service establishment shall inform the parent or legal guardian of each student of such school of the letter grade of the school food service establishment and that the additional information required by this section is available on the website of the [city] department of education. The principal shall also post such letter grade in a publicly visible location near the front entrance and cafeteria entrances of such school, in a manner to be determined by the department of health and mental hygiene. The principal shall further promptly inform the parent or legal guardian of each student of such school whenever a letter grade issued for such school food service establishment is a C or below. The principal shall [inform such parent or legal guardian that such information is available] provide the information required to be communicated to such parent or legal guardian by this section in a manner consistent with how other information is communicated to such parent or legal guardian, including, but not limited to, email, mail, parent newsletter, or notice to students to show their parent or legal guardian. 

                     d. The department of health and mental hygiene shall, for each school food service  establishment for which inspection results and letter grades are not posted pursuant to subdivision b, post the following information on its website: (i) the date of the inspection or re-inspection; (ii) the name and address of the school where the school food service establishment is located; (iii) the letter grade issued to the school food service establishment; (iv) the facts establishing observed violations, if any, during  such inspection and the severity level of such violations; (v) citations to the laws, regulations or rules for any violations observed during such inspection; and (vi) any corrective actions taken in response to such inspection.

                     e. Inspection results and letter grades posted on the websites for the department of education and the department of health and mental hygiene pursuant to this section shall be searchable by the school name and address.

§ 4. This local law takes effect 120 days after it becomes law. 

 

CCF/ZH

LS #5564

04/29/2019 12:00 PM