Question: We have a student group that would like to sell pies for the holiday. They will be preparing them from their home and sell them after school. Can foods be prepared from home? Is school liable if for some reason someone gets sick?

Response: Education Code Section 48932 allows governing boards to authorize study body organizations to conduct fund raising activities, so the first criteria in answering your question would be to ask if that governing board has approved the activity of selling pies for the holiday. Good business practice suggests that governing boards should review and approve all associated study body (ASB) fund raising events at the beginning of each school year, or should approve policies and administrative regulations that delineate allowable and unallowable fund raising events. If a fund raising event was not known at the beginning of the year, the governing board can still approve events as they come up during the school year. In addition, governing boards may delegate authority to approve fund raising events to the district superintendent and /or other district designee.

Although food sales, such as with pies, are a good way to make money, the sale of food items has become very complicated because of state law. There are various Education Codes and California Code of Regulations in existence, such as EC 48931, ED 35182.5, EC 49431, EC 49431.5, EC 49431.5, EC 39891.5, and Title 5, making this a complex way to make money.

High schools (such as yours) may hold up to four food sales annually for any and all student groups, meaning that these four food sales are for all groups to participate in, but must occur on only four days during the school year. One student group may also sell up to three food items daily. The food sold at these fundraiser events must meet these criteria:

1. The specific nutritious items must be approved by the board

2. The items sold can not be prepared on the premises

3. The items sold can not be the same as those sold by the cafeteria program that same day

So, in summary, the sale may occur if approved by the governing board or designee and if it occurs on one of the four days annually chosen for any student groups if it meets the criteria. As far as whether or not the district would be liable if someone got sick, that’s a legal question and not something that we can advise on.