March 27, 2025
Mr. Aguilar (for himself, Mr. Carson, Ms. Chu, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. McGarvey, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Gottheimer, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Norton, Mr. Panetta, Ms. Pingree, Ms. Tlaib, and Mrs. Watson Coleman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish statewide community eligibility for certain special assistance payments, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the No Hungry Kids in Schools Act
.
Sec. 2. Statewide community eligibility
Section 11(a)(1)(F) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)(F)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(xiv) Statewide community eligibility
For each school year beginning on or after July 1, 2025, the Secretary shall establish an option for States to utilize a statewide community eligibility program, for purposes of which, in the case of a State agency that agrees to provide funding from sources other than Federal funds to ensure that local educational agencies in the State receive the free reimbursement rate for 100 percent of the meals served at applicable schools, as defined by the Secretary—
(I)
the multiplier described in clause (vii) shall apply;
(II)
the threshold described in clause (viii) shall be zero; and
(III)
the percentage of enrolled students who were identified students shall be calculated across all applicable schools in the State regardless of local educational agency.