Report 2016-139 Recommendation 10 Responses

Report 2016-139: California Department of Education: It Has Not Ensured That School Food Authorities Comply With the Federal Buy American Requirement (Release Date: July 2017)

Recommendation #10 To: San Francisco Unified School District

To help ensure that they consistently comply with the Buy American requirement, San Francisco should establish written policies and procedures related to the Buy American requirement by October 1, 2017. At a minimum, those policies and procedures should include the following:
- An explanation of how it will ensure that it consistently includes language related to the Buy American requirement in its bid solicitation documents and contracts.
- A minimum expectation for how regularly it will verify that food items its vendors provide are domestic commodities or products.
- A requirement that its staff identify the need to purchase foreign-sourced items as early as possible in the food purchasing process and that they begin documenting the justification for such exceptions to the Buy American requirement at that time.
- Guidance for how it will maintain documentation showing that its purchases of foreign-sourced food items meet one of the two allowable exceptions.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From September 2021

On February 23, 2021 The Board of Education passed updated Buy American Board Policy. The policy was implemented immediately upon passage. The Board Policy will be submitted via email as shown below.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

San Francisco established written policies and procedures related to the Buy American requirement that describe that it will include language related to the Buy American requirement in its bid solicitations and contracts, set minimum expectations for how often staff will verify that the food items its vendors provide are domestic commodities or products, require its staff identify the need to purchase foreign-sourced items as early as possible in the food purchasing process, and describe how the district will maintain exception documentation.


Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2020

Final Board policy update will be adopted during November 10, 2020 Board Meeting. Will email documentation once this is done.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending


Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2019

San Francisco Unified School District developed Buy American policy which was adopted by the SFUSD Board of Education on September 20, 2018. The policy was implemented during the 2018-19 school year. This policy will be emailed per directions below. Buy American language was added to request for proposals/bid solicitations as shown on the attached for Prepared Meals & Meal Delivery which was published in September of 2019. This RFP will be emailed per directions below.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

San Francisco implemented a policy that includes a minimum expectation for how regularly it will verify that food items its vendors provide are domestic commodities or products. However, its policy does not include the following:

- An explanation of how it will ensure that it consistently includes language related to the Buy American requirement in its bid solicitation documents and contracts.

- A requirement that its staff identify the need to purchase foreign-sourced items as early as possible in the food purchasing process and that they begin documenting the justification for such exceptions to the Buy American requirement at that time.

- Guidance for how it will maintain documentation showing that its purchases of foreign-sourced food items meet one of the two allowable exceptions.


All Recommendations in 2016-139

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.