Food and Nutrition Education in Schools Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3293 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish the Food and Nutrition Education in Schools Pilot Program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 13, 2020 Mr. BOOKER (for himself and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nu- trition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish the Food and Nutrition Education in Schools Pilot Program, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Food and Nutrition 4 Education in Schools Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3293.IS S3293 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3293 IS SEC. 2. FOOD AND NUTRITION EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS 1 PILOT PROGRAM. 2 Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 3 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended by adding at the 4 end the following: 5 ‘‘(l) FOOD AND NUTRITION EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS 6 PILOT PROGRAM.— 7 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection 8 is to provide local educational agencies with human 9 resources dedicated to implementing integrated, 10 hands-on food and nutrition education in schools 11 with the goal of increasing acceptance and consump- 12 tion of healthy, high-quality meals and snacks by 13 students. 14 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 15 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, 16 the Secretary shall establish a pilot program, to be 17 known as the ‘Food and Nutrition Education in 18 Schools Pilot Program’ (referred to in this sub- 19 section as the ‘pilot program’), under which the Sec- 20 retary shall award grants to local educational agen- 21 cies for— 22 ‘‘(A) projects that hire qualified, full-time 23 food and nutrition educators to carry out pro- 24 grams in schools that have the goal of improv- 25 ing student health and nutrition; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3293.IS S3293 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3293 IS ‘‘(B) projects that fund school gardens or 1 other evidence-based interventions relating to 2 student health and nutrition to create hands-on 3 learning opportunities for students. 4 ‘‘(3) JOINT PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretary 5 shall encourage, to the maximum extent practicable, 6 joint partnership projects under the pilot program 7 among— 8 ‘‘(A) agencies; 9 ‘‘(B) nonprofit organizations; 10 ‘‘(C) postsecondary institutions that offer 11 programs on nutrition, food preparation, or ag- 12 ricultural science; 13 ‘‘(D) food-service businesses (such as local 14 farms, restaurants, and food distributors); 15 ‘‘(E) beginning farmers and ranchers (as 16 defined in section 2501(a) of the Food, Agri- 17 culture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 18 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))); 19 ‘‘(F) veteran farmers and ranchers (as de- 20 fined in that section); 21 ‘‘(G) socially disadvantaged farmers and 22 ranchers (as defined in section 355(e) of the 23 Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act 24 (7 U.S.C. 2003(e))); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3293.IS S3293 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3293 IS ‘‘(H) State and local government agencies. 1 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION.—In establishing the pilot 2 program, the Secretary shall consult and ensure co- 3 ordination with the heads of other appropriate Fed- 4 eral agencies and programs that deliver nutrition 5 education. 6 ‘‘(5) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 8 annually solicit from local educational agencies 9 the submission of project proposals for grants 10 under the pilot program. 11 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED ELEMENTS FOR PROJECT 12 PROPOSAL.—A project proposal submitted 13 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 14 ‘‘(i) a statement of the purposes of 15 the project; 16 ‘‘(ii)(I) the name of the entity or indi- 17 vidual with overall responsibility for the 18 project; and 19 ‘‘(II) a description of the qualifica- 20 tions of that entity or individual; 21 ‘‘(iii) a description of— 22 ‘‘(I) staffing and stakeholder en- 23 gagement for the project; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3293.IS S3293 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3293 IS ‘‘(II) the logistics of the project; 1 and 2 ‘‘(III) the methods to be used to 3 evaluate student learning, such as 4 through a project, presentation, or 5 other form of assessment; 6 ‘‘(iv) a proposed budget for the funds 7 and time required to carry out the project; 8 ‘‘(v) information regarding the source 9 and amount of any matching funding avail- 10 able for the project; 11 ‘‘(vi) an implementation plan, includ- 12 ing efforts by the school food authority as- 13 sociated with the local educational agency 14 to integrate activities carried out under the 15 project with other efforts by schools to pro- 16 mote student health and nutrition; 17 ‘‘(vii) information that demonstrates 18 the clear potential of the project to con- 19 tribute to implementing integrated, hands- 20 on food and nutrition education in schools 21 with the goal of increasing acceptance and 22 consumption of healthy, high-quality meals 23 and snacks; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3293.IS S3293 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3293 IS ‘‘(viii) any other information that the 1 Secretary considers necessary. 2 ‘‘(C) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Sec- 3 retary may award a grant for a project proposal 4 submitted under subparagraph (A) if the 5 project— 6 ‘‘(i) incorporates evidence-based prac- 7 tices proven to increase healthy food con- 8 sumption by students; 9 ‘‘(ii) includes hands-on, experiential 10 learning; 11 ‘‘(iii) implements school gardens, taste 12 tests, student engagement, or other farm- 13 to-school practices; 14 ‘‘(iv) identifies the commitment of the 15 local educational agency— 16 ‘‘(I) to improve the nutritional 17 value of school meals; 18 ‘‘(II) to carry out innovative pro- 19 grams that improve the health and 20 wellness of schoolchildren, such as 21 farm-to-school programs; and 22 ‘‘(III) to evaluate the outcome of 23 the project; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3293.IS S3293 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3293 IS ‘‘(v) meets any other requirement es- 1 tablished by the Secretary. 2 ‘‘(D) PRIORITY.—To the maximum extent 3 practicable, in awarding grants under the pilot 4 program, the Secretary shall give priority to 5 projects that serve schools or districts— 6 ‘‘(i) in which not less than 40 percent 7 of students qualify for free or reduced- 8 price meals under this Act or the Child 9 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et 10 seq.); or 11 ‘‘(ii) that include neighborhoods with 12 high rates of childhood obesity or other 13 diet-related diseases. 14 ‘‘(6) ADMINISTRATION.— 15 ‘‘(A) DIVERSITY.—In awarding grants 16 under the pilot program, the Secretary shall en- 17 sure that projects are located in diverse demo- 18 graphic, geographic, rural, urban, and suburban 19 settings. 20 ‘‘(B) INDIAN TRIBES.—The Secretary shall 21 ensure that not fewer than 1 project receiving 22 a grant under the pilot program— 23 ‘‘(i) is located on an Indian reserva- 24 tion; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3293.IS S3293 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3293 IS ‘‘(ii) serves a school in which the ma- 1 jority of the students are members of an 2 Indian tribe. 3 ‘‘(7) REPORTS.— 4 ‘‘(A) REPORTS TO SECRETARY.— 5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A local edu- 6 cational agency that receives a grant under 7 the pilot program shall periodically submit 8 to the Secretary a report that includes any 9 information that the Secretary determines 10 is necessary to evaluate the progress and 11 success of the project, including evidence 12 of student learning under the project, to 13 ensure positive results, assess problems, 14 and foster improvements. 15 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.— 16 Reports under clause (i), and any other 17 documents of the local educational agency 18 relating to a project carried out using a 19 grant awarded under the pilot program, 20 shall be made available to the public in a 21 timely manner. 22 ‘‘(B) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later 23 than 5 years after the date of enactment of this 24 subsection, and annually thereafter, the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3293.IS S3293 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3293 IS retary shall submit to Congress a report that 1 includes— 2 ‘‘(i) a description of the results and 3 effectiveness of each project carried out 4 under the pilot program; 5 ‘‘(ii) an examination of the impact of 6 each project on— 7 ‘‘(I) student diet and dietary 8 practices; 9 ‘‘(II) student performance and 10 behavior; 11 ‘‘(III) food consumption; 12 ‘‘(IV) changes in cafeterias and 13 the school food environment; 14 ‘‘(V) school meal participation by 15 students; and 16 ‘‘(VI) other indicators as deter- 17 mined by the Secretary; 18 ‘‘(iii) demographic data on the schools 19 and communities served by the pilot pro- 20 gram; 21 ‘‘(iv) a summary of the activities con- 22 ducted by each local educational agency 23 after receiving a grant under the pilot pro- 24 gram; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3293.IS S3293 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3293 IS ‘‘(v) recommendations on how the 1 pilot program may be improved and wheth- 2 er funding for the pilot program should be 3 continued. 4 ‘‘(8) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 5 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 6 retary to carry out this subsection $7,000,000 for 7 each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.’’. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3293.IS S3293 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS