The bill would change how children qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. It would require states to use Medicaid information to certify eligible children without a new application and would expand direct certification to include more children, such as some children receiving adoption or kinship guardianship assistance. It would also protect meal eligibility when a child transfers schools, extend eligibility for some children living with relatives, and allow schools to claim meal reimbursements retroactively after a change in eligibility.
The bill would create grants and technical help to improve direct certification. It would adjust rules for the Community Eligibility Provision and create demonstrations in up to five states where all students at participating schools receive meals at no charge. The bill would require an evaluation of those demonstrations by September 30, 2030.
Some children could qualify for school meals automatically, without submitting a separate application. A child who changes schools could keep an existing eligibility determination, and some households could receive repayment for meal fees paid before a child’s eligibility changed. In selected states, every student at participating schools would receive school meals at no charge during the demonstration.
The bill directs $28 million for direct certification grants and technical assistance, including at least $2 million for grants related to the food distribution program on Indian reservations. It also directs $3 million for evaluating the statewide meal demonstrations. States selected for a demonstration must provide non-federal funding so local education agencies receive the free-meal reimbursement rate for at least 90 percent of meals served at eligible schools.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.