Federal

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require schools to provide fluid milk substitutes upon request of a student or the parent or guardian of such student, and for other purposes.

Source: Congress.gov · 418 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill changes how schools handle milk substitute requests in the school lunch program. Schools must provide fluid milk substitutes (beverages that replace milk) when a student or parent asks for them. The bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, which is the federal law governing school lunches.

Who It Affects

Students in school lunch programs and their parents or guardians. Schools that serve lunch under the federal program. State agencies that oversee school lunch programs.

Key Provisions

• Schools must provide fluid milk substitutes upon request from a student or the parent or guardian of a student, instead of having the option to do so (Sec. 1) • Fluid milk substitutes must meet standards determined by the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans published under the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 (Sec. 1) • Schools can accept a request for milk substitutes from a student or parent or guardian, without requiring written approval from a medical authority (Sec. 1)

What Changes

The word "may" becomes "shall" in the school lunch rules, meaning schools go from being allowed to provide milk substitutes to being required to do so. Schools no longer need written statements from medical authorities to approve milk substitute requests.

Important Definitions

None defined in the bill text.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1539 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require schools to provide fluid milk substitutes upon request of a student or the parent or guardian of such student, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 10, 2023 Mr. CARTER of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require schools to provide fluid milk substitutes upon request of a student or the parent or guardian of such student, 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. FLUID MILK SUBSTITUTES. 3 Section 9(a)(2)(B) of the Richard B. Russell Na- 4 tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(a)(2)(B)) is 5 amended— 6 (1) in clause (i)— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1539.IH H1539 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 1539 IH (A) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 1 ‘‘shall’’; 2 (B) by striking ‘‘and meets’’ and inserting 3 ‘‘as determined by the most recent Dietary 4 Guidelines for Americans published under sec- 5 tion 301 of the National Nutrition Monitoring 6 and Related Research Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 7 5341) or that meets’’; and 8 (C) by striking ‘‘for students who cannot 9 consume fluid milk because of a medical or 10 other special dietary need other than a dis- 11 ability described in subparagraph (A)(iii)’’; 12 (2) in clause (ii)— 13 (A) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 14 ‘‘shall’’; 15 (B) by striking ‘‘the school notifies the 16 State agency’’ and all that follows through ‘‘if 17 the substitution is’’; 18 (C) by striking ‘‘by written statement of a 19 medical authority or’’; 20 (D) by inserting ‘‘student or a’’ after ‘‘by 21 a’’; and 22 (E) by striking ‘‘that identifies the medical 23 or other special dietary need that restricts the 24 student’s diet’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1539.IH H1539 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 1539 IH (3) by striking clause (iii). 1 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1539.IH H1539 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB

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