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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5240 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5240

 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to enhance 
          direct certification under the school lunch program.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 25, 2024

 Mr. Casey (for himself, Mr. Fetterman, Mr. King, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. 
 Smith, Ms. Baldwin, Mrs. Murray, and Mrs. Gillibrand) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to enhance 
          direct certification under the school lunch program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Caregivers, Access, and Responsible 
Expansion for Kids Act of 2024'' or the ``CARE for Kids Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. ENHANCING DIRECT CERTIFICATION.

    Section 9(b)(5) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(5)) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting 
        ``(including any school operated by the Bureau of Indian 
        Education)'' before ``may certify'';
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting a closing parenthesis 
        before the semicolon at the end; and
            (3) in subparagraph (E)--
                    (A) in clause (i), by striking ``or'' at the end;
                    (B) in clause (ii)--
                            (i) by striking ``who'' and inserting 
                        ``whom''; and
                            (ii) by striking the period at the end and 
                        inserting a semicolon; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(iii) a child whose placement with a caregiver 
                was carried out with the involvement of an agency that 
                administers a State plan under part B or E of title IV 
                of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or a 
                tribal child welfare agency, without regard to whether 
                the agency is responsible for the care and placement of 
                the child;
                    ``(iv) a child for whom an adoption assistance 
                payment is made under section 473(a) of the Social 
                Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)) or under a similar 
                State-funded or State-operated program, as determined 
                by the Secretary;
                    ``(v) a child for whom a kinship guardianship 
                assistance payment is made under section 473(d) of the 
                Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673(d)) or under a 
                similar State-funded or State-operated program, as 
                determined by the Secretary, without regard to whether 
                the child was previously in foster care; or
                    ``(vi) a child of a family that--
                            ``(I) lives in housing dedicated to low-
                        income families with a caregiver who is a 
                        grandparent or another older person that cares 
                        for the child full-time; or
                            ``(II) receives housing or housing 
                        assistance under the Native American Housing 
                        Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 
                        (25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.).''.

SEC. 3. EXTENDED ELIGIBILITY.

    Section 9(b)(9) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(9)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D);
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
                    ``(C) Eligibility of transferred children.--
                            ``(i) Definition of covered child.--In this 
                        subparagraph, the term `covered child' means a 
                        child that--
                                    ``(I) has been determined eligible 
                                for free or reduced price meals under 
                                this Act by a local educational agency 
                                (referred to in this subparagraph as 
                                the `original local educational 
                                agency'); and
                                    ``(II) transfers to another school 
                                that is under the jurisdiction of a 
                                different local educational agency 
                                (referred to in this subparagraph as 
                                the `new local educational agency').
                            ``(ii) Eligibility.--An eligibility 
                        determination made by an original local 
                        educational agency with respect to a covered 
                        child shall be transferred to, and honored by, 
                        the new local educational agency, including the 
                        period for which that determination was 
                        authorized, subject to an extension under 
                        clause (iii).
                            ``(iii) Extension of duration.--A new local 
                        educational agency shall honor the eligibility 
                        determination for a covered child under clause 
                        (ii) for a period that is 1 year longer than 
                        the period for which that determination was 
                        authorized by the original local educational 
                        agency if the covered child began living with a 
                        caregiver--
                                    ``(I) during the 12-month period 
                                preceding the date on which the covered 
                                child is enrolled in a school under the 
                                jurisdiction of a new local educational 
                                agency; and
                                    ``(II) who is a grandparent or 
                                other relative and--
                                            ``(aa) has legal authority 
                                        to secure services for the 
                                        child through an educational or 
                                        healthcare consent affidavit, 
                                        power of attorney, or other 
                                        legal documentation; or
                                            ``(bb) has legal custody of 
                                        the child or has commenced the 
                                        process of seeking legal 
                                        custody of the child in a court 
                                        of law.''; and
            (3) in subparagraph (D) (as so redesignated)--
                    (A) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 
                subclauses (I) and (II), respectively, and indenting 
                appropriately;
                    (B) in the matter preceding subclause (I) (as so 
                redesignated), by striking ``Except as'' and all that 
                follows through ``(3)(H)(ii)'' and inserting the 
                following:
                            ``(i) In general.--Except as otherwise 
                        specified in clause (ii), subparagraph (C), 
                        subparagraphs (E) and (H)(ii) of paragraph 
                        (3)''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(ii) Extension for certain children.--A 
                        school food authority shall extend the 
                        eligibility determination made by a local 
                        educational agency with respect to a child for 
                        a period that is 1 year longer than the period 
                        for which that determination was authorized by 
                        the local educational agency, if the child 
                        began living with a caregiver--
                                    ``(I) during the 12-month period 
                                preceding the date on which the covered 
                                child is enrolled in the new school; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) who is a grandparent or 
                                other relative and--
                                            ``(aa) has legal authority 
                                        to secure services for the 
                                        child through an educational or 
                                        healthcare consent affidavit, 
                                        power of attorney, or other 
                                        legal documentation; or
                                            ``(bb) has legal custody of 
                                        the child or has commenced the 
                                        process of seeking legal 
                                        custody of the child in a court 
                                        of law.''.

SEC. 4. EXPANDING AUTOMATIC ELIGIBILITY.

    (a) In General.--Section 9(b)(12)(A) of the Richard B. Russell 
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(12)(A)) is amended--
            (1) by conforming the margins of clauses (iv) through (vii) 
        to the margin of clause (iii); and
            (2) in clause (vii)--
                    (A) in subclause (I), by striking ``or'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subclause (II)--
                            (i) by striking ``who'' and inserting 
                        ``whom''; and
                            (ii) by striking the period at the end and 
                        inserting a semicolon; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(III) a child whose placement with a 
                        caregiver was carried out with the involvement 
                        of an agency that administers a State plan 
                        under part B or E of title IV of the Social 
                        Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or a 
                        tribal child welfare agency, without regard to 
                        whether the agency is responsible for the care 
                        and placement of the child;
                            ``(IV) a child for whom an adoption 
                        assistance payment is made under section 473(a) 
                        of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)) 
                        or under a similar State-funded or State-
                        operated program, as determined by the 
                        Secretary;
                            ``(V) a child for whom a kinship 
                        guardianship assistance payment is made under 
                        section 473(d) of the Social Security Act (42 
                        U.S.C. 673(d)) or under a similar State-funded 
                        or State-operated program, as determined by the 
                        Secretary, without regard to whether the child 
                        was previously in foster care; or
                            ``(VI) a child of a family that--
                                    ``(aa) lives in housing dedicated 
                                to low-income families with a caregiver 
                                who is a grandparent or another older 
                                person that cares for the child full-
                                time; or
                                    ``(bb) receives housing or housing 
                                assistance under the Native American 
                                Housing Assistance and Self-
                                Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 
                                4101 et seq.).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 9(d)(2) of the Richard B. 
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(d)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``(iv) or (v)'' and 
        inserting ``(ii), (iii), (iv), (v), or (vii)'';
            (2) in subparagraph (E), by adding ``or'' at the end after 
        the semicolon;
            (3) by striking subparagraph (F); and
            (4) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as subparagraph (F) 
        and conforming the margin of subparagraph (F) (as so 
        redesignated) appropriately.

SEC. 5. MEDICAID DIRECT CERTIFICATION.

    Section 9(b)(15)(A)(i) of the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(15)(A)(i)) is amended--
            (1) in subclause (I)--
                    (A) in item (bb)--
                            (i) by striking ``9902(2)'' and inserting 
                        ``9902(2))''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``(bb) who is'' and 
                        inserting the following:
                                            ``(BB) is''; and
                    (B) by striking ``(I)(aa) who is'' and inserting 
                the following:
                                            ``(aa)(AA) is'';
            (2) in subclause (II)--
                    (A) by striking ``regulations) with a child 
                described in subclause (I)'' and inserting 
                ``regulations)) with a child described in item (aa)''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking ``(II) who is'' and inserting the 
                following:
                                            ``(bb) is'';
            (3) in the matter preceding item (aa)(AA) (as so 
        redesignated), by striking ``The term `eligible child' means a 
        child'' and inserting the following:
                                    ``(I) In general.--The term 
                                `eligible child' means a child who''; 
                                and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
                                    ``(II) Inclusion.--The term 
                                `eligible child' includes a child who 
                                receives medical assistance through the 
                                Medicaid program under--
                                            ``(aa) subclause (I) of 
                                        section 1902(a)(10)(A)(i) of 
                                        the Social Security Act (42 
                                        U.S.C. 1396a(a)(10)(A)(i)) on 
                                        the basis of receiving aid or 
                                        assistance under the State plan 
                                        approved under part E of title 
                                        IV of that Act (42 U.S.C. 670 
                                        et seq.) or by reason of 
                                        section 473(b) of that Act (42 
                                        U.S.C. 673(b)); or
                                            ``(bb) subclause (II) of 
                                        section 1902(a)(10)(A)(i) of 
                                        that Act (42 U.S.C. 
                                        1396a(a)(10)(A)(i)) on the 
                                        basis of receiving supplemental 
                                        security income benefits.''.
                                 <all>
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