Expanding Access to School Meals Act of 2025
This bill increases student access to free school lunches and breakfasts under the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program of the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Specifically, the bill expands program eligibility to include students in households with income at or below 224% of the federal poverty level. (Currently, students in households with income at or below 130% are eligible.) The bill also eliminates the reduced price school lunch and breakfast programs and prohibits USDA from providing reimbursements for reduced price programs.
States may use Medicaid participation data to directly certify students for free school meals. (Direct certification allows schools to approve meals without the need for a separate application for children who receive assistance under other programs.) Under current law, states may apply to participate in a USDA demonstration project to directly certify children for free and reduced price meals based on household income data acquired through Medicaid.
Further, the bill increases the number of free meals a school in a high-poverty area may be reimbursed for at the free-meal rate under the Community Eligibility Provision. (This provision allows eligible schools, groups of schools, and school districts to offer free meals at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting separate applications.) Specifically, the bill increases from 1.6% to 2.5% the reimbursement multiplier, which is used to calculate how many meals USDA will reimburse the school for at the free meal rate.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2680 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2680
To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act to eliminate reduced price breakfasts and
lunches and to require that the income guidelines for determining
eligibility for free breakfasts and free lunches be 224 percent of the
poverty level, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 7, 2025
Mr. Gottheimer (for himself, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. Adams, Mr. DeSaulnier,
Mr. Carson, Ms. Chu, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Moulton, Ms. Norton, Ms.
Sherrill, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Stevens,
Mr. Thanedar, and Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act to eliminate reduced price breakfasts and
lunches and to require that the income guidelines for determining
eligibility for free breakfasts and free lunches be 224 percent of the
poverty level, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) In General.--This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding Access to
School Meals Act of 2025''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act are as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--REPEAL OF REDUCED PRICE BREAKFASTS AND LUNCHES
Sec. 101. Repeal of reduced price breakfasts.
Sec. 102. Repeal of reduced price lunches.
TITLE II--EXPANSION OF FREE LUNCH ELIGIBILITY
Sec. 201. Poverty level for free lunch.
Sec. 202. Direct certification for children receiving Medicaid
benefits.
Sec. 203. Retroactive reimbursement.
Sec. 204. Increase of community eligibility program multiplier.
TITLE I--REPEAL OF REDUCED PRICE BREAKFASTS AND LUNCHES
SEC. 101. REPEAL OF REDUCED PRICE BREAKFASTS.
(a) In General.--Section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42
U.S.C. 1758) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Repeal of Reduced Price Breakfasts.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, the reduced price breakfast program is repealed
and the Secretary may not provide reimbursements for reduced price
breakfasts under this section.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--The Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42
U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) is amended--
(1) by striking ``or reduced price'' each place it appears;
(2) by striking ``for a reduced price'' each place it
appears;
(3) by striking ``or at a reduced price'' each place it
appears;
(4) by striking ``for reduced price breakfasts'' each place
it appears; and
(5) by striking ``and reduced price'' each place it
appears.
(c) Further Conforming Amendments.--Section 4(b) of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking the second
sentence; and
(B) by striking subparagraph (C); and
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking subparagraph (C).
SEC. 102. REPEAL OF REDUCED PRICE LUNCHES.
(a) In General.--The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act
(42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 30. REPEAL OF REDUCED PRICE LUNCHES.
``Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the reduced price
lunch program is repealed and the Secretary may not provide
reimbursements for reduced price lunches under this Act.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--The Richard B. Russell National School
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) is amended--
(1) by striking ``or reduced price'' each place it appears;
(2) by striking ``or a reduced price'' each place it
appears;
(3) by striking ``or reduced-price'' each place it appears;
(4) by striking ``and reduced price'' each place it
appears; and
(5) by striking ``a reduced price'' each place it appears.
TITLE II--EXPANSION OF FREE LUNCH ELIGIBILITY
SEC. 201. POVERTY LEVEL FOR FREE LUNCH.
Section 9(b)(1)(A) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch
Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(1)(A)) is amended--
(1) by striking the third sentence; and
(2) by striking ``130 percent'' and inserting ``224
percent''.
SEC. 202. DIRECT CERTIFICATION FOR CHILDREN RECEIVING MEDICAID
BENEFITS.
(a) In General.--Section 9(b) of the Richard B. Russell National
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (5) by amending to read as follows:
``(5) Discretionary certification.--
``(A) Free lunches or breakfasts.--Subject to
paragraph (6), any local educational agency may certify
any child as eligible for free lunches or breakfasts,
without further application, by directly communicating
with the appropriate State or local agency to obtain
documentation of the status of the child as--
``(i) a member of a family that is
receiving assistance under the temporary
assistance for needy families program funded
under part A of title IV of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
``(ii) a homeless child or youth (defined
as 1 of the individuals described in section
725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)));
``(iii) served by the runaway and homeless
youth grant program established under the
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701
et seq.);
``(iv) a migratory child (as defined in
section 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6399));
``(v) an eligible child (as defined in
paragraph (15)(A)); or
``(vi)(I) a foster child whose care and
placement is the responsibility of an agency
that administers a State plan under part B or E
of title IV of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 621 et seq.); or
``(II) a foster child who a court has
placed with a caretaker household.
``(B) Agreements to carry out certification.--To
certify a child under subparagraph (A)(v), a State
agency shall enter into an agreement with 1 or more
State agencies conducting eligibility determinations
for the Medicaid program.
``(C) Procedures.--Subject to paragraph (6), an
agreement under subparagraph (B) shall establish
procedures under which an eligible child may be
certified for free lunches under this Act and free
breakfasts under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act
of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773), without further application
(as defined in paragraph (4)(G)).'';
(2) in paragraph (6)(A), by striking ``or (5)'' both places
it appears and inserting ``(5), or (15)''; and
(3) by amending paragraph (15)(A)(i) to read as follows:
``(i) Eligible child.--The term `eligible
child' means a child--
``(I)(aa) who is eligible for and
receiving medical assistance under the
Medicaid program; and
``(bb) who is a member of a family
with an income as measured by the
Medicaid program that does not exceed
224 percent of the poverty line (as
determined under the poverty guidelines
updated periodically in the Federal
Register by the Department of Health
and Human Services under the authority
of section 673(2) of the Community
Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C.
9902(2), including any revision
required by such section)) applicable
to a family of the size used for
purposes of determining eligibility for
the Medicaid program;
``(II) who is eligible for the
Medicaid program because such child
receives supplemental security income
benefits under title XVI of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381-1385) or
State supplementary benefits of the
type referred to in section 1616(a) of
such Act (or payments of the type
described in section 212(a) of Public
Law 93-66);
``(III) who is eligible for the
Medicaid program because such child
receives an adoption assistance payment
made under section 473(a) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)) or
under a similar State-funded or State-
operated program, as determined by the
Secretary;
``(IV) who is eligible for the
Medicaid program because such child
receives a kinship guardianship
assistance payment made under section
473(d) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 673(d)) or under a similar
State-funded or State-operated program,
as determined by the Secretary, without
regard to whether such child was
previously in foster care; or
``(V) who is a member of a
household (as that term is defined in
section 245.2 of title 7, Code of
Federal Regulations (or successor
regulations)) with a child described in
subclause (I), (II), (III), or (IV).''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section shall apply
with respect to school years beginning on or after July 1, 2025.
SEC. 203. RETROACTIVE REIMBURSEMENT.
Section 9(b)(9)(C) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch
Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(9)(C)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``Except'' and inserting the following:
``(i) In general.--Except'';
(2) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses (I)
and (II); and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(ii) Retroactivity.--A local educational
agency shall revise a previously submitted meal
claim to reflect the eligibility approval of a
child for free meals for the period that begins
on the first day of the current school year.
``(iii) Meal claim defined.--In this
subsection, the term `meal claim' means any
documentation provided by a school food
authority to a State agency in order to receive
reimbursement for the cost of a meal served to
a child by such school food authority.''.
SEC. 204. INCREASE OF COMMUNITY ELIGIBILITY PROGRAM MULTIPLIER.
Section 11(a)(1)(F) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch
Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)(F)) is amended by striking clause (vii) and
inserting the following:
``(vii) Multiplier.--For each school year
beginning on or after July 1, 2025, the
multiplier shall be 2.5.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
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