S 1431119th CongressIn Committee

School Meal Modernization and Hunger Elimination Act

Introduced: Apr 10, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The School Meal Modernization and Hunger Elimination Act would overhaul and expand how K-12 school meals are funded and eligibility is determined under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. The bill broadens direct certification (automatic eligibility for free or reduced-price meals) to additional groups, creates streamlined transfer and retroactive reimbursement rules for students who move between districts, and pushes toward universal, data-driven certification (including Medicaid and SSA data sharing). It also sets up new grant programs to boost direct certification, expands the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) framework, and launches up to five statewide demonstrations in which all students at participating eligible schools receive meals at no charge. Overall, the measure aims to reduce administrative barriers, expand access to free meals, and test broader universal-meals approaches while funding these efforts with new federal grants and state/tribal contributions.

Key Points

1Expanded direct certification and data-driven eligibility
2- Adds more categories of children eligible for direct certification (including certain foster-related arrangements, kinship care, adoption/guardianship scenarios, housing-assisted families, and SSI recipients).
3- Creates a universal Medicaid direct-certification pathway and requires state Medicaid eligibility data-sharing agreements to certify children for free/reduced meals without new applications.
4- Establishes direct-certification improvement grants and technical assistance to increase certification rates, including special funding for tribal organizations and Indian reservations.
5Improved handling of transferred and automatically eligible children
6- When a child transfers between school districts, the eligibility determination by the original district is honored by the new district, with potential extension of eligibility duration if the child moves in with a grandparent or other relative who has legal authority.
7- Expands automatic eligibility provisions to cover additional caregiving and housing circumstances, and adjusts CEP-related calculations and timelines to broaden automatic access to free meals.
8Retroactive reimbursement and caregiver-related extensions
9- Requires local education agencies to revise and resubmit meal claims if a child’s eligibility changes, and to reimburse households for any fees paid after a retroactive date when eligibility improves.
10- Extends eligibility duration for certain children who begin living with a caregiver (grandparent/relative) just before or after moving schools, for up to an extra year.
11Universal/near-universal meal demonstrations and CEP enhancements
12- Authorizes up to five States to run statewide demonstrations where meals are provided at no charge to all students in eligible schools, with participation determined by a competitive process prioritizing poverty, direct-certification progress, and commitments to non-federal funding.
13- Demonstrations include special monthly payments to participating States to subsidize meals (with funding tied to identified-student percentages) and require non-federal funding to cover a large share of meals to sustain the free-rate reimbursement.
14- CEP provisions are refined to extend eligible periods, adjust counting and multiplier rules, and streamline certain CEP-related requirements.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- School-aged children and their families, particularly those in low-income or non-traditional caregiving situations (foster/kinship care, adoption/guardianship, housing-assisted families, SSI recipients).- Local educational agencies (school districts and charter schools) that administer meal programs and handle eligibility determinations and reimbursements.Secondary group/area affected- State agencies, Tribal organizations, and Indian tribes that administer school nutrition programs and Medicaid determinations; the bill creates new agreements and funding streams for them.- Households and guardians who may receive retroactive reimbursements and reduced administrative burden from automatic certifications.Additional impacts- Financial: introduces new federal funding for direct-certification grants, Medicaid data-sharing processes, and statewide universal-meals demonstrations; requires substantial non-federal funding/participation for CEP and demonstration projects.- Administrative/operational: requires state Medicaid data-sharing agreements, expands automatic eligibility categories, and adds new grant programs and demonstration project requirements; could necessitate upgraded IT systems and cross-program coordination.- Policy signaling: moves toward broader automatic/universal access to free meals and tests large-scale universal meals through state demonstrations, potentially shaping future nutrition policy and federal-/state budgeting decisions.

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