IV 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. RES. 895 Recognizing National School Breakfast Week from March 2nd through March 6th, 2020, and expressing the sense of Congress that providing breakfast in schools through the National School Breakfast Program has a positive impact on classroom performance. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 10, 2020 Ms. MOORE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor RESOLUTION Recognizing National School Breakfast Week from March 2nd through March 6th, 2020, and expressing the sense of Congress that providing breakfast in schools through the National School Breakfast Program has a positive impact on classroom performance. Whereas National School Breakfast Program participants under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 include public, pri- vate, elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as rural, suburban, and urban schools; Whereas, on average per day in the 2018–2019 school year, 12,400,000 students in the United States consumed free or reduced-price school breakfasts provided under the National School Breakfast Program established by sec- tion 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Mar 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR895.IH HR895 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 895 IH Whereas over 6,000 schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program do not participate in the National School Breakfast Program; Whereas, in the 2018–2019 school year, 8 States failed to reach even half of the low-income students who partici- pate in the National School Lunch Program with the Na- tional School Breakfast Program; Whereas just over half of the low-income students who par- ticipate in the National School Lunch Program also par- ticipate in the National School Breakfast Program; Whereas making breakfast widely available through different venues or a combination thereof, such as breakfast after the bell programs, in the classroom, obtained as students exit their school bus, or outside the classroom, has been shown to increase participation in free or reduced-price breakfast programs and lessen the stigma regarding such participation, which often prevents eligible students from obtaining traditional breakfast in the cafeteria; Whereas providing free universal breakfast through the Com- munity Eligibility Provision has been shown to signifi- cantly increase National School Breakfast Program par- ticipation rates and reduce administrative burden; Whereas States with high implementation of the Community Eligibility Provision have experienced high participation in the National School Breakfast Program; Whereas studies have shown that access to nutritious pro- grams such as the National School Lunch Program and National School Breakfast Program help to create a strong learning environment for children and help to im- prove children’s concentration in the classroom; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Mar 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR895.IH HR895 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 895 IH Whereas providing breakfast in the classroom has been shown in several instances to improve attentiveness and aca- demic performance, while reducing tardiness and discipli- nary referrals; Whereas students struggling with hunger experience a great- er prevalence of behavioral, emotional, mental health, and academic problems; Whereas students who consume breakfast have been shown to perform better on mathematical tasks, vocabulary tests, demanding mental tasks, and in dealing with frustration; Whereas studies suggest that eating breakfast at school, which is closer to classroom and test-taking time, im- proves student performance on standardized tests relative to students who skip breakfast or have breakfast at home; Whereas studies show that students who skip breakfast are more likely to have difficulty distinguishing among simi- lar images, show increased errors, and have slower mem- ory recall; Whereas children that experience hunger have been shown to be more likely to have lower math scores, face an in- creased likelihood of repeating a grade, and receive more special education services; Whereas National School Breakfast Program participants have better nutrition status and intake of nutrients, such as calcium, fiber, protein, and vitamins A and C; and Whereas children who fail to eat breakfast are more likely to be overweight or obese than children who eat a daily healthy breakfast: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Mar 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR895.IH HR895 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 895 IH (1) recognizes the importance of the National 1 School Breakfast Program and its overall positive ef- 2 fect on the lives of low-income children and families, 3 as well as its effect on helping to improve a child’s 4 overall classroom performance; 5 (2) recognizes the importance of the Commu- 6 nity Eligibility Provision in increasing school break- 7 fast participation, and reducing administrative bur- 8 den; 9 (3) expresses support for States that have suc- 10 cessfully implemented school breakfast programs in 11 order to improve the test scores and grades of its 12 participating students; and 13 (4) encourages States to strengthen their school 14 breakfast programs by improving access for stu- 15 dents, to promote improvements in the nutritional 16 quality of breakfasts served, and to inform students 17 and parents of healthy nutritional and lifestyle 18 choices. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Mar 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR895.IH HR895 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS