1. NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DIVISION OF FOOD AND NUTRITION
CIVIL RIGHTS TRAINING
Welcome to the Civil Rights Webinar. My name is Carol Flato and I will be presenting this training module. The webinar will cover the various rules and regulations of civil rights as they apply to the Child Nutrition Programs. If at any time during the presentation you have a question, please feel free to type them in and we will then address all your concerns at the end of the webinar.
NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
DIVISION OF FOOD AND NUTRITION

2. What are civil rights? Civil rights are:
The nonpolitical rights of a citizen
The rights of personal liberty guaranteed to U.S. citizens by the 13th and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution and Acts of Congress
Basically read the slide

3. Civil Rights Compliance in the Child Nutrition Program
Our goals:
Equal treatment for all applicants and beneficiaries under the law
Knowledge of rights and responsibilities
Elimination of illegal barriers that prevent or deter people from receiving benefits
Dignity and respect for all
Read header first. Our goal is for equal treatment for all applicants and beneficiaries under the law, knowledge of rights and responsibilities, the elimination of any illegal barriers that prevent or deter people from receiving benefits, and dignity and respect for all program recipients.

4. What is Discrimination?
Different treatment by making a distinction of one person or a group of persons from others. It may be:
Intentionally
By neglect
By actions or lack of actions
What is discrimination?
It is the different treatment by making a distinction of one person or a group of persons from others. This treatment may be intentionally, by neglect or by actions or lack of actions.

5. Six Protected Classes Race Color National Origin Sex Age Disability
There are six protected classes with civil rights, Race, color, national origin, sex, age and disability

6. Who’s Obligated to Comply?
Any recipient of Federal financial assistance, whether those programs are federally funded in whole or in part
Who is obligated to comply with protection of the six classes. Any recipient of federal financial assistance, whether those programs are federally funded in whole or part. Since you are all child nutrition sponsors you are obligated to comply

7. Areas of Civil Rights Compliance
Assurances
Annual staff training
Public notification system
Data collection
Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities
Limited English proficiency
Complaint procedures
There are various areas of civil right compliance which we will address. Assurance, annual staff training, public notification system, data collection, reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities, limited English proficiency, and complant procedures.

8. Assurances LEAs promise:
No discrimination in the Child Nutrition Programs based on race, color, national origin, age, sex, or disability
Program will operate in compliance with all nondiscrimination laws, regulations, instructions, policies and guidelines
Compile civil rights data and maintain and submit records
Assurances
Each LEA will promise that there will be no discrimination in the Child Nutrition Program based on race, color, national origin, age, sex or disability.
All of their Child Nutrition Programs will operate in compliance with all nondiscrimination laws, regulations, instructions, policies and guidelines.
Each LEA will promise they will compile necessary civil rights data, and maintain and submit reports

9. Civil Rights Training Topics to cover at annual Civil Rights Training:
What is discrimination?
Collecting and recording racial and ethnic data
Where to display “And Justice for All” posters
What is a Civil Rights complaint?
How to handle a Civil Rights complaint
Compliance review techniques
Requirements for language assistance
Each LEA must provide annual civil rights training for staff who interact with program applicants or participants. This would include, for example, the cafeteria staff and the free/reduced priced application approval staff along with their supervisors. The LEA must provide documentation that indicates that the civil rights training occurred and that required participants attended. It would be acceptable for the LEA to provide a copy of the agenda for the relevant training and a corresponding sign in sheet.
The topics to discuss at the civil rights training are: read slide.

10. Public Notification Public announcement: Program availability
Complaint information
Nondiscrimination statement
Each year LEAs must publicly announce Program availability to parents through the LEAs public announcement. This PA details the various child nutrition programs which are available in the district, where to register a civil rights complaint, if applicable, and the USDA nondiscrimination statement.

11. Non-discrimination statement
For use on all appropriate Program materials: “The U.S. Department of Agriculture prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.) If you wish to file a Civil Rights complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at filing cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866) to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C , by fax (202) or at Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) ; or (800) (Spanish). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.”
This is the nondiscrimination statement which must be included on any document that references food nutrition programs. During the AR, we will determine if this statement appears on all pertinent materials. Pertinent materials would include: menus, notification of eligibility letters to parents, and websites

12. Shorter Version “This institution is an equal opportunity provider”.
When material is too small to contain the full statement, the material at a minimum must include the following statement:
“This institution is an equal opportunity provider”.
The full version of the nondiscrimination statement is quite lengthy. When you find that spacing is an issue and you cannot accommodate the full statement, the material, at a minimum must include the following statement: This institution is an equal opportunity provider. This shorter version would be ideal for menus and websites.

13. “And Justice for All” Poster
Must be displayed in a prominent place
Program participants must be able to read the text without obstruction
USDA web address
The And Justice for all poster must be displayed in a prominent place. Program participants must be able to read the text without obstruction. The size of the poster must be 11 x 17. Some acceptable places to display the poster are: by the cashier, the beginning of the service line, over the milk cooler, and at the exit or entrance of the cafeteria.
We have been advised that USDA is currently out of stock with the and justice for all poster and there has been no timeframe given yet for reprinting. In the meantime, State agencies and LEAs may download the poster from the website noted. USDA has waived the size requirements, so those posters printed on 8 x 11 paper are acceptable.

14. “And Justice for All” Poster in Classrooms
If students eat at least one meal in the cafeteria, then displaying the poster in the cafeteria is adequate.
If students eat all meals in the classroom, the poster must be displayed in every classroom where meals are served.
As mentioned, the poster must be displayed correctly. So how should the poster be displayed when there is classroom feeding. READ THE SLIDE.

15. Data Collection and Maintenance
Each LEA must collect racial and ethnic data on an annual basis for each site
Racial and ethnic data is obtained through self-identification, personal knowledge or observation
Documentation must be maintained for three years
Annually, LEAs must collect racial and ethnic data for each site.
The LEA will collect the racial and ethnic data through a mechanism of their own choosing, for example-voluntary self identification, personal knowledge or observation.
All documentation must be maintained for three years.

16. Civil Rights Data Collection (Form 86)
Two Ethnic Categories
Hispanic or Latino
Persons of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central America or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. The term “Spanish origin” can be used in addition to “Hispanic or Latino”.
Not Hispanic or Latino
Civil rights data will be recorded on the civil rights compliance form (86). The form is divided into two main sections. The first section looks at the ethnicity of the total school population and the numbers of free, reduced priced and denied students.
There are two ethnic categories: READ the slide.

17. Five Racial Categories
Black or African American: (persons having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa)
Asian: (persons having origins in the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam)
American Indian: (persons having origins in North, Central and South America, and who maintain cultural identification through tribal affiliation)
White: (persons having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East or North Africa)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: (persons having origins in Hawaii, Guam, Samoa or other Pacific Islanders)
The second portion of the form looks at the race of the total school population and the free, reduced priced and denied students.
READ the slide

18. Form 86 must be completed for each site in the district, This form will be checked during the AR.

19. This is a prototype of a civil rights form.
Upper left hand corner with the method of collection.
First part is the ethnicity. Break out the enrollment first. Then free, r and denied. Free includes the DC, migrant, homeless, runaway, app with NJ snap and tanf and hh size and income.
Denied are ones where they have completed an applications.
Second portion is race.

20. Denied Applications
During the Administrative Review (AR), the composition of the denied applications will be reviewed to determine if a disproportionate number of these applications were submitted by minority households.
The reviewers will determine if these applications were denied for any reason other than the applications were incomplete or the household was ineligible based on income and family size.
The new AR is more extensive. To that end, during the AR-read the slide.

21. Reasonable Accommodations
When a student has a life threatening disability which has been medically documented by a doctor, accommodations must be made. When a student has a food intolerance, accommodations MAY BE made.
Accommodating students with special needs can be challenging and it seems more and more students are falling into this category. LEAS need to have the following understanding when providing reasonable accomondations: read the slide. Further information on understanding the requirements can be obtained with the FNS guidance, Accommodating Students with Special Dietary Needs. USDA is in the process of updating this guidance. As soon as it is available it will be posted on SNEARS.If at anytime you receive a request which you are unsure of handling, please contact our office for more guidance.

22. Limited English Proficient (LEP) Households
LEAs are required to take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to the program
Lunch applications are available in 33 languages
If there is a need for services for Limited English Proficient households LEAs are required to take reasonable steps to ensure access to the child nutrition programs. So for example, if you have a high population of Spanish speaking students, the LEA would naturally want to provide the app in Spanish to the households.
On the USDA website, LEAs can find the household lunch applications in ----languages.

23. Civil Rights Meal Observation
During the breakfast and lunch services, LEAs must provide children equal benefits without discrimination regardless of their race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability on the day of review at each reviewed school.
Meal service observation must indicate that no discrimination occurs.

24. Civil Rights Complaint Procedures
Any person alleging discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability has a right to file a compliant within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory action
Complaints can be written or verbal
LEAS must have a procedure in place for receiving and processing complaints alleging civil rights discrimination in school meal programs. Any person alleging discrimination based on the protected classes has a right to file a complaint within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory action. The complaints maybe verbal or written. LEAS must assure confidentiality with any complaint.

25. Procedures for Complaints
LEAs must:
Record number and description of complaints alleging discrimination in the current and prior year
Forward complaint to the appropriate parties for resolution
LEAs must record the number and description of the complaints alleging discrimination in the current and prior year and forward all the complaints to the appropriate parties for resolution.

26. Handling of Complaints
All civil rights complaints, written or verbal, shall be accepted and forwarded to the New Jersey Division of Food and Nutrition which is turn will forward to the Civil Rights Division of the Regional USDA Food and Nutrition Services Office
Complaints will be processed within 90 calendar days of receipt
Read the slide.
The LEAS must not attempt to resolve any civil rights complaint themselves.

27. Thank you for attending the webinar!
Department of Agriculture
School Nutrition Programs