Universal School Meals Program Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1530 To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to make breakfasts and lunches free for all children, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 10, 2021 Mr. SANDERS (for himself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. WARREN, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. HEINRICH, and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nu- trition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to make break- fasts and lunches free for all children, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Universal School Meals Program Act of 2021’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.IS S1530 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1530 IS Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Effective date. TITLE I—SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM Sec. 101. Free school breakfast program. TITLE II—SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM Sec. 201. Apportionment to States. Sec. 202. Nutritional and other program requirements. Sec. 203. Special assistance program. Sec. 204. Price for a paid lunch. Sec. 205. Summer food service program for children. Sec. 206. Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children Program. Sec. 207. Child and adult care food program. Sec. 208. Meals and supplements for children in afterschool care. Sec. 209. Access to local foods: farm to school program. Sec. 210. Fresh fruit and vegetable program. Sec. 211. Training, technical assistance, and Food Service Management Insti- tute. Sec. 212. Reimbursement of school meal delinquent debt program. Sec. 213. Conforming amendments. TITLE III—ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION DATA Sec. 301. Measure of poverty. TITLE IV—AMENDMENTS TO OTHER PROGRAMS AND LAWS Sec. 401. Supplemental nutrition assistance program. Sec. 402. Higher Education Act of 1965. Sec. 403. Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Sec. 404. America COMPETES Act. Sec. 405. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Sec. 406. National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002. Sec. 407. Child care and development block grant. Sec. 408. Children’s Health Act of 2000. Sec. 409. Juvenile justice and delinquency prevention. SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. 1 Unless otherwise provided, this Act, and the amend- 2 ments made by this Act, shall take effect 1 year after the 3 date of enactment of this Act. 4 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.IS S1530 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1530 IS TITLE I—SCHOOL BREAKFAST 1 PROGRAM 2 SEC. 101. FREE SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(a) of the Child Nutri- 4 tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773(a)) is amended, in the 5 first sentence— 6 (1) by striking ‘‘is hereby’’ and inserting ‘‘are’’; 7 and 8 (2) by inserting ‘‘to provide free breakfast to all 9 children enrolled at those schools’’ before ‘‘in accord- 10 ance’’. 11 (b) APPORTIONMENT TO STATES.—Section 4(b) of 12 the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773(b)) is 13 amended— 14 (1) in paragraph (1)— 15 (A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 16 subclause (II) and inserting the following: 17 ‘‘(II) the national average pay- 18 ment for free breakfasts, as specified 19 in subparagraph (B).’’; 20 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in- 21 serting the following: 22 ‘‘(B) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.— 23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The national aver- 24 age payment for each free breakfast shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.IS S1530 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1530 IS be $2.72, adjusted annually for inflation in 1 accordance with clause (ii) and rounded in 2 accordance with clause (iii). 3 ‘‘(ii) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 4 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The annual 5 inflation adjustment under clause (i) 6 shall reflect changes in the cost of op- 7 erating the free breakfast program 8 under this section, as indicated by the 9 change in the Consumer Price Index 10 for food away from home for all urban 11 consumers. 12 ‘‘(II) BASIS.—Each inflation an- 13 nual adjustment under clause (i) shall 14 reflect the changes in the Consumer 15 Price Index for food away from home 16 for the most recent 12-month period 17 for which that data is available. 18 ‘‘(iii) ROUNDING.—On July 1, 2021, 19 and annually thereafter, the national aver- 20 age payment rate for free breakfast shall 21 be— 22 ‘‘(I) adjusted to the nearest 23 lower-cent increment; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.IS S1530 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1530 IS ‘‘(II) based on the unrounded 1 amounts for the preceding 12-month 2 period.’’; 3 (C) by striking subparagraphs (C) and 4 (E); and 5 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 6 subparagraph (C); 7 (2) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3); 8 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as 9 paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and 10 (4) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated), by 11 striking ‘‘paragraph (3) or (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘para- 12 graph (2)’’. 13 (c) STATE DISBURSEMENT TO SCHOOLS.—Section 4 14 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) is 15 amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the fol- 16 lowing: 17 ‘‘(c) STATE DISBURSEMENT TO SCHOOLS.—Funds 18 apportioned and paid to any State for the purpose of this 19 section shall be disbursed by the State educational agency 20 to schools selected by the State educational agency to as- 21 sist those schools in operating a breakfast program.’’. 22 (d) NO COLLECTION OF DEBT.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 24 provision of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.IS S1530 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1530 IS U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) or any other provision of law, 1 effective beginning on the date of enactment of this 2 Act, as a condition of participation in the breakfast 3 program under section 4 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 4 1773), a school— 5 (A) shall not collect any debt owed to the 6 school for unpaid meal charges; and 7 (B) shall continue to accrue debt for un- 8 paid meal charges— 9 (i) for the purpose of receiving reim- 10 bursement under section 212; and 11 (ii) until the effective date specified in 12 section 2. 13 (2) CHILD NUTRITION ACT OF 1966.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Child 15 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) is 16 amended by striking subsection (d) and insert- 17 ing the following: 18 ‘‘(d) NO COLLECTION OF DEBT.—A school partici- 19 pating in the free breakfast program under this section 20 shall not collect any debt owed to the school for unpaid 21 meal charges.’’. 22 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 23 23(a) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 24 U.S.C. 1793(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘school 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.IS S1530 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1530 IS in severe need, as described in section 4(d)(1)’’ 1 and inserting the following: ‘‘school— 2 ‘‘(1) that has a free breakfast program under 3 section 4 or seeks to initiate a free breakfast pro- 4 gram under that section; and 5 ‘‘(2) of which not less than 40 percent of the 6 students are identified students (as defined in para- 7 graph (8) of section 1113(a) of the Elementary and 8 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 9 6313(a)))’’. 10 (e) NUTRITIONAL AND OTHER PROGRAM REQUIRE- 11 MENTS.—Section 4(e) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 12 (42 U.S.C. 1773(e)) is amended— 13 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), in the second sentence, 14 by striking ‘‘free or’’ and all that follows through 15 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘free to all chil- 16 dren enrolled at a school participating in the school 17 breakfast program.’’; and 18 (2) in paragraph (2), in the second sentence, by 19 striking ‘‘the full charge to the student for a break- 20 fast meeting the requirements of this section or’’. 21 (f) PROHIBITION ON BREAKFAST SHAMING, MEAL 22 DENIAL.— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.IS S1530 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1530 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Effective beginning on the 1 date of enactment of this Act, a school or school 2 food authority— 3 (A) shall not— 4 (i) physically segregate or otherwise 5 discriminate against any child participating 6 in the breakfast program under section 4 7 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 8 U.S.C. 1773); or 9 (ii) overtly identify a child described 10 in clause (i) by a special token or ticket, 11 an announced or published list of names, 12 or any other means; and 13 (B) shall provide the program meal to any 14 child eligible under the program. 15 (2) CHILD NUTRITION ACT OF 1966.—Section 4 16 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) 17 is amended by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION ON BREAKFAST SHAMING.—A 19 school or school food authority shall not— 20 ‘‘(1) physically segregate or otherwise discrimi- 21 nate against any child participating in the free 22 breakfast program under this section; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.IS S1530 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1530 IS ‘‘(2) overtly identify a child described in para- 1 graph (1) by a special token or ticket, an announced 2 or published list of names, or any other means.’’. 3 (g) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OVERSEAS DEPEND- 4 ENTS’ SCHOOLS.—Section 20(b) of the Child Nutrition 5 Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1789(b)) is amended— 6 (1) by striking ‘‘and reduced-price’’; and 7 (2) by striking ‘‘and shall’’ and all that follows 8 through ‘‘section’’. 9 (h) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Child Nutri- 10 tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) is amended— 11 (1) by striking ‘‘or reduced price’’ each place it 12 appears; 13 (2) by striking ‘‘and reduced price’’ each place 14 it appears; and 15 (3) by striking ‘‘a reduced price’’ each place it 16 appears. 17 TITLE II—SCHOOL LUNCH 18 PROGRAM 19 SEC. 201. APPORTIONMENT TO STATES. 20 Section 4(b) of the Richard B. Russell National 21 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1753(b)) is amended— 22 (1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 23 following: 24 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.IS S1530 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1530 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The national average 1 payment for each free lunch shall be $3.81, ad- 2 justed annually for inflation in accordance with 3 subparagraph (C) and rounded in accordance 4 with subparagraph (D). 5 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL PAYMENT FOR LOCAL 6 FOOD.— 7 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF LOCALLY- 8 SOURCED FARM PRODUCT.—In this sub- 9 paragraph, the term ‘locally-sourced farm 10 product’ means a farm product that— 11 ‘‘(I) is marketed to consumers— 12 ‘‘(aa) directly; or 13 ‘‘(bb) through intermediated 14 channels (such as food hubs and 15 cooperatives); and 16 ‘‘(II) with respect to the school 17 food authority purchasing the farm 18 product, is produced and distrib- 19 uted— 20 ‘‘(aa) in the State in which 21 the school food authority is lo- 22 cated; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.IS S1530 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1530 IS ‘‘(bb) not more than 250 1 miles from the location of the 2 school food authority. 3 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL PAYMENT ELIGI- 4 BILITY.—During a school year, a school 5 food authority shall receive an additional 6 payment described in clause (iii) if the 7 State certifies that the school food author- 8 ity served meals (including breakfasts, 9 lunches, suppers, and supplements) during 10 the last school year of which not less than 11 25 percent were made with locally-sourced 12 farm products. 13 ‘‘(iii) PAYMENT AMOUNT.— 14 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The addi- 15 tional payment amount under this 16 subparagraph shall be— 17 ‘‘(aa) $0.30 for each free 18 lunch and supper; 19 ‘‘(bb) $0.21 for each free 20 breakfast; and 21 ‘‘(cc) $0.08 for each free 22 supplement. 23 ‘‘(II) ADJUSTMENTS.—Each ad- 24 ditional payment amount under sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.IS S1530 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1530 IS clause (I) shall be adjusted annually 1 in accordance with subparagraph (C) 2 and rounded in accordance with sub- 3 paragraph (D). 4 ‘‘(iv) DISBURSEMENT.—The State 5 agency shall disburse funds made available 6 under this clause to school food authorities 7 eligible to receive additional reimburse- 8 ment. 9 ‘‘(C) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The annual infla- 11 tion adjustment under subparagraphs (A) 12 and (B)(iii) shall reflect changes in the 13 cost of operating the free lunch program 14 under this Act, as indicated by the change 15 in the Consumer Price Index for food away 16 from home for all urban consumers. 17 ‘‘(ii) BASIS.—Each annual inflation 18 adjustment under subparagraphs (A) and 19 (B)(iii) shall reflect the changes in the 20 Consumer Price Index for food away from 21 home for the most recent 12-month period 22 for which that data is available. 23 ‘‘(D) ROUNDING.—On July 1, 2021, and 24 annually thereafter, the national average pay- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.IS S1530 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1530 IS ment rate for free lunch and the additional pay- 1 ment amount for free breakfast, lunch, supper, 2 and supplement under subparagraph (B) shall 3 be— 4 ‘‘(i) adjusted to the nearest lower-cent 5 increment; and 6 ‘‘(ii) based on the unrounded amounts 7 for the preceding 12-month period.’’; and 8 (2) by striking paragraph (3). 9 SEC. 202. NUTRITIONAL AND OTHER PROGRAM REQUIRE- 10 MENTS. 11 (a) ELIMINATION OF FREE LUNCH ELIGIBILITY RE- 12 QUIREMENTS.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9 of the Richard B. 14 Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 15 1758) is amended by striking subsection (b) and in- 16 serting the following: 17 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBI [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]