II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1343 

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to improve 

and expand direct certification procedures for the national school lunch 

and school breakfast programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2009 

Mr. BROWN (for himself, Mr. BENNET, and Mr. CASEY) 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 improve and expand direct certification procedures 

for the national school lunch and school breakfast programs, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hunger Free Schools 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. IMPROVING DIRECT CERTIFICATION. 

2 (a) PERFORMANCE AWARDS.—Section 9(b)(4) of the 

3 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 1758(b)(4)) is amended— 

5 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

6 ‘‘FOOD STAMP’’ and inserting ‘‘SUPPLEMENTAL NU7 TRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM’’; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(E) PERFORMANCE AWARDS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Effective for each 

11 of the schools years beginning July 1, 

12 2010, July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2012, the 

13 Secretary shall offer performance awards 

14 to States to encourage the States to ensure 

15 that all children eligible for direct certifi16 cation under this paragraph are certified in 

17 accordance with this paragraph. 

18 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—For each 

19 school year described in clause (i), the Sec20 retary shall— 

21 ‘‘(I) consider State data from the 

22 prior school year, including estimates 

23 contained in the report required under 

24 section 4301 of the Food, Conserva25 tion, and Energy Act of 2008 (42 

26 U.S.C. 1758a); and 


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1 ‘‘(II) make performance awards 

2 to, as determined by the Secretary— 

3 ‘‘(aa) 5 States that dem4 onstrate outstanding perform5 ance; and 

6 ‘‘(bb) 5 States that dem7 onstrate substantial improve8 ment. 

9 ‘‘(iii) FUNDING.— 

10 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—On October 

11 1, 2009, and on each October 1 there12 after through October 1, 2011, out of 

13 any funds in the Treasury not other14 wise appropriated, the Secretary of 

15 the Treasury shall transfer to the Sec16 retary, to remain available until ex17 pended— 

18 ‘‘(aa) $2,000,000 to carry 

19 out clause (ii)(I); and 

20 ‘‘(bb) $2,000,000 to carry 

21 out clause (ii)(II). 

22 ‘‘(II) RECEIPT AND ACCEPT23 ANCE.—The Secretary shall be enti24 tled to receive, shall accept, and shall 

25 use to carry out this clause the funds 


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1 transferred under subclause (I), with2 out further appropriation.’’. 

3 (b) CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PLANS.—Section 

4 9(b)(4) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 

5 Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(4)) (as amended by subsection 

6 (a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(F) CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

8 PLANS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each school year, 

10 the Secretary shall— 

11 ‘‘(I) identify, using estimates 

12 contained in the report required under 

13 section 4301 of the Food, Conserva14 tion, and Energy Act of 2008 (42 

15 U.S.C. 1758a), States that directly 

16 certify less than 95 percent of the 

17 total number of children in the State 

18 who are eligible for direct certification 

19 under this paragraph; and 

20 ‘‘(II) require the States identified 

21 under subclause (I) to implement a 

22 corrective action plan to fully meet 

23 the requirements of this paragraph. 

24 ‘‘(ii) IMPROVING PERFORMANCE.—A 

25 State may include in a corrective action 


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1 plan under clause (i)(II) methods to im2 prove direct certification required under 

3 this paragraph or paragraph (15) and dis4 cretionary certification under paragraph 

5 (5). 

6 ‘‘(iii) FAILURE TO MEET PERFORM7 ANCE STANDARD.— 

8 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A State that 

9 is required to implement a corrective 

10 action plan under clause (i)(II) shall 

11 be required to submit to the Sec12 retary, for the approval of the Sec13 retary, a direct certification improve14 ment plan for the following school 

15 year. 

16 ‘‘(II) REQUIREMENTS.—A direct 

17 certification improvement plan under 

18 subclause (I) shall include— 

19 ‘‘(aa) specific measures that 

20 the State will use to identify 

21 more children who are eligible for 

22 direct certification; 

23 ‘‘(bb) a timeline for the 

24 State to implement those meas25 ures; and 


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1 ‘‘(cc) goals for the State to 

2 improve direct certification re3 sults.’’. 

4 (c) WITHOUT FURTHER APPLICATION.—Section 

5 9(b)(4) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(4)) (as amended by subsection 

7 (b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(G) WITHOUT FURTHER APPLICATION.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In this paragraph, 

10 the term ‘without further application’ 

11 means that no action is required by the 

12 household of the child. 

13 ‘‘(ii) CLARIFICATION.—A requirement 

14 that a household return a letter notifying 

15 the household of eligibility for direct cer16 tification or eligibility for free school meals 

17 does not meet the requirements of clause 

18 (i).’’. 

19 SEC. 3. REPORT ON USING STATEWIDE EDUCATION DATA20 BASES FOR DIRECT CERTIFICATION. 

21 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall 

23 prepare and submit to Congress a report regarding how 

24 statewide databases developed by States to track compli25 ance with the requirements of part A of title I of the EleVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:15 Jun 25, 2009 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1343.IS S1343

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1 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

2 6311 et seq.) can be used for purposes of direct certifi3 cation under section 9(b) of the Richard B. Russell Na4 tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)). 

5 (b) CONTENTS.—The report described in subsection 

6 (a) shall— 

7 (1) identify the States that have, as of the time 

8 of the report, developed statewide databases to track 

9 compliance with the requirements of part A of title 

10 I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

11 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.); 

12 (2) describe best practices regarding how such 

13 statewide databases can be used for purposes of di14 rect certification under section 9(b) of the Richard 

15 B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 1758(b)); 

17 (3) include case studies of States that have ex18 panded such statewide databases so that such state19 wide databases can be used for direct certification 

20 purposes; and 

21 (4) identify States with such statewide data22 bases that would be appropriate for expansion for di23 rect certification purposes. 

24 (c) FUNDING.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—On October 1, 2009, out of 

2 any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appro3 priated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer 

4 to the Secretary to carry out this section $500,000, 

5 to remain available through September 30, 2012. 

6 (2) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The Sec7 retary shall be entitled to receive, shall accept, and 

8 shall use to carry out this section the funds trans9 ferred under paragraph (1), without further appro10 priation. 

11 SEC. 4. EXPANDING DIRECT CERTIFICATION. 

12 (a) DIRECT CERTIFICATION FOR CHILDREN RECEIV13 ING MEDICAID OR SCHIP.—Section 9(b) of the Richard 

14 B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 1758(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(14) DIRECT CERTIFICATION FOR CHILDREN

17 RECEIVING MEDICAID OR SCHIP.— 

18 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE CHILD.— 

19 In this paragraph, the term ‘eligible child’ 

20 means a child— 

21 ‘‘(i)(I) who is eligible for and receiving 

22 medical assistance under the State Med23 icaid program under title XIX of the Social 

24 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) or 

25 child health assistance under the State 


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1 children’s health insurance program under 

2 title XXI of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et 

3 seq.); and 

4 ‘‘(II) whose family income, as used for 

5 purposes of determining eligibility for the 

6 relevant program in subclause (I), does not 

7 exceed 133 percent of the poverty line (as 

8 defined in section 673(2) of the Commu9 nity Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 9902(2), including any revision required by 

11 such section)) applicable to a family of the 

12 size used for purposes of determining that 

13 eligibility; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) a child who is a member of a 

15 household (as that term is defined in sec16 tion 245.2 of title 7, Code of Federal Reg17 ulations (or successor provisions)) with a 

18 child described in clause (i). 

19 ‘‘(B) AGREEMENT.—Subject to subpara20 graph (D), each State agency shall enter into 

21 an agreement with the State agency conducting 

22 eligibility determinations for the programs de23 scribed in subparagraph (A)(i). 

24 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES.—Subject to subpara25 graph (D) and paragraph (6), the agreement 


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1 shall establish procedures under which an eligi2 ble child shall be certified for free lunches 

3 under this Act and free breakfasts under sec4 tion 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 

5 U.S.C. 1773), without further application (as 

6 defined in paragraph (4)(G)). 

7 ‘‘(D) CERTIFICATION.—Subject to sub8 paragraph (D) and paragraph (6), under the 

9 agreement, the local educational agency con10 ducting eligibility determinations for a school 

11 lunch program under this Act and a school 

12 breakfast program under the Child Nutrition 

13 Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) shall cer14 tify an eligible child as eligible for free lunches 

15 under this Act and free breakfasts under the 

16 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et 

17 seq.), without further application (as defined in 

18 paragraph (4)(G)). 

19 ‘‘(E) APPLICABILITY.—This paragraph ap20 plies to— 

21 ‘‘(i) in the case of the school year be22 ginning July 1, 2010, any State or local 

23 educational agency that elects to partici24 pate in direct certification under this para25 graph; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of the school year be2 ginning July 1, 2011, a local educational 

3 agency that had an enrollment of 25,000 

4 students or more in the preceding school 

5 year; 

6 ‘‘(iii) in the case of the school year be7 ginning July 1, 2012, a local educational 

8 agency that had an enrollment of 10,000 

9 students or more in the preceding school 

10 year; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) in the case of the school year be12 ginning July 1, 2013, and each subsequent 

13 school year, each local educational agency. 

14 ‘‘(F) GRANTS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

16 shall provide grants to State agencies that 

17 carry out child nutrition programs (as de18 fined in section 25(b)) or conduct eligibility 

19 determinations for the programs described 

20 in subparagraph (A)(i) for activities associ21 ated with implementing this paragraph, in22 cluding— 

23 ‘‘(I) computer system upgrades; 

24 ‘‘(II) reprogramming to allow for 

25 data matches; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) training local educational 

2 agency staff. 

3 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary 

4 shall use funds made available under this 

5 subparagraph to provide— 

6 ‘‘(I) initial grants of $50,000 to 

7 each State agency; and 

8 ‘‘(II) the remainder of the funds 

9 through competitive grants based on 

10 criteria established by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(iii) FUNDING.— 

12 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—On October 

13 1, 2009, out of any funds in the 

14 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

15 the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

16 transfer to the Secretary to carry out 

17 this subparagraph $15,000,000, to re18 main available until expended. 

19 ‘‘(II) RECEIPT AND ACCEPT20 ANCE.—The Secretary shall be enti21 tled to receive, shall accept, and shall 

22 use to carry out this subparagraph 

23 the funds transferred under subclause 

24 (I), without further appropriation.’’. 


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1 (b) DIRECT CERTIFICATION PILOT PROGRAM.—Sec2 tion 9(b) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 

3 Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)) (as amended by subsection (a)) 

4 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(15) DIRECT CERTIFICATION PILOT PRO6 GRAM.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the school year 

8 beginning July 1, 2010, the Secretary shall 

9 carry out a pilot program to evaluate the use of 

10 program data, including data relating to med11 ical assistance under the State Medicaid pro12 gram under title XIX of the Social Security Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) or child health assist14 ance under the State children’s health insur15 ance program under title XXI of that Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.), for direct certification 

17 of children for reduced price school meals. 

18 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The evaluation 

19 shall include— 

20 ‘‘(i) an analysis of the number of chil21 dren directly certified for reduced price 

22 meals; 

23 ‘‘(ii) an assessment of— 

24 ‘‘(I) the workload reduction for 

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1 essing fewer paper applications and 

2 having a smaller verification sample; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(II) the workload associated 

5 with directly certifying children for re6 duced price meals; 

7 ‘‘(iii) an analysis of the number of 

8 children made eligible for reduced price 

9 meals who would have been eligible for 

10 paid meals or free meals if a paper appli11 cation had been submitted on behalf of the 

12 child; and 

13 ‘‘(iv) testing of various mechanisms to 

14 ensure that no child receives a lower level 

15 of benefits as a result of the pilot than the 

16 child would have received had a paper ap17 plication been submitted and approved. 

18 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than December 

19 31, 2011, the Secretary shall submit to the 

20 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For21 estry of the Senate and the Committee on Edu22 cation and Labor of the House of Representa23 tives a report describing the results of the pilot 

24 program under this paragraph. 

25 ‘‘(D) FUNDING.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—On October 1, 

2 2009, out of any funds in the Treasury not 

3 otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of 

4 the Treasury shall transfer to the Sec5 retary to carry out this paragraph 

6 $4,000,000, to remain available until ex7 pended. 

8 ‘‘(ii) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.— 

9 The Secretary shall be entitled to receive, 

10 shall accept, and shall use to carry out this 

11 paragraph the funds transferred under 

12 clause (i), without further appropriation.’’. 

13 (c) DIRECT CERTIFICATION OF CHILDREN OF MILI14 TARY PERSONNEL.—Section 9(b) of the Richard B. Rus15 sell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)) (as 

16 amended by subsection (b)) is amended by adding at the 

17 end the following: 

18 ‘‘(16) DIRECT CERTIFICATION OF CHILDREN OF

19 MILITARY PERSONNEL.—Subject to paragraph (6), 

20 any local educational agency may certify any child as 

21 eligible for free lunches or breakfasts, without fur22 ther application (as defined in paragraph (4)(G)), by 

23 directly communicating with the appropriate com24 mander at the military installation or facility con25 cerned to obtain documentation of the status of the 


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1 child as a member of a household that is eligible for 

2 a supplemental subsistence allowance for low-income 

3 members with dependents under section 402a of title 

4 37, United States Code.’’. 

5 (d) AGREEMENT FOR DIRECT CERTIFICATION AND

6 COOPERATION BY STATE MEDICAID AND CHIP AGEN7 CIES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1902(a)(7) of the 

9 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(7)) is 

10 amended— 

11 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

12 and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively and 

13 realigning the left margins accordingly; 

14 (B) in clause (ii) (as so redesignated)— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘at State option,’’; 

16 (ii) by inserting ‘‘certify or’’ before 

17 ‘‘verify the certification of eligibility’’; and 

18 (iii) by adding ‘‘and’’ after the semi19 colon; 

20 (C) by striking ‘‘provide safeguards’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘provide— 

22 ‘‘(A) safeguards’’; and 

23 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(B) that, notwithstanding the option 

25 under subsection (e)(13) (relating to Express 


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1 Lane eligibility), not later than July 1, 2010, 

2 the State shall enter into an agreement with the 

3 State agency administering the school lunch 

4 program established under the Richard B. Rus5 sell National School Lunch Act under which the 

6 State shall establish procedures to ensure 

7 that— 

8 ‘‘(i) any child receiving medical assist9 ance under the State plan under this title 

10 or child health assistance under a State 

11 child health plan under title XXI whose 

12 family income does not exceed 133 percent 

13 of the poverty line (as defined in section 

14 673(2) of the Community Services Block 

15 Grant Act, including any revision required 

16 by such section) applicable to a family of 

17 the size involved, shall be certified as eligi18 ble for free lunches under the Richard B. 

19 Russell National School Lunch Act and 

20 free breakfasts under the Child Nutrition 

21 Act of 1966 without further application; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the State agencies responsible for 

24 administering the State plan under this 

25 title, the State child health plan under title 


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1 XXI, and for carrying out child nutrition 

2 programs (as defined in section 25(b) of 

3 the Richard B. Russell National School 

4 Lunch Act) cooperate in carrying out para5 graphs (3)(F) and (14) of section 9(b) of 

6 that Act;’’. 

7 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 paragraph (2), the amendments made by this 

10 subsection take effect on the date of enactment 

11 of this Act. 

12 (B) EXTENSION OF EFFECTIVE DATE FOR

13 STATE LAW AMENDMENT.—In the case of a 

14 State plan under title XIX of the Social Secu15 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) which the 

16 Secretary of Health and Human Services deter17 mines requires State legislation in order for the 

18 plan to meet the additional requirements im19 posed by the amendments made by this section, 

20 the State plan shall not be regarded as failing 

21 to comply with the requirements of the amend22 ments made by this section solely on the basis 

23 of its failure to meet such additional require24 ments before the first day of the first calendar 

25 quarter beginning after the close of the first 


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1 regular session of the State legislature that be2 gins after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

3 For purposes of the previous sentence, in the 

4 case of a State that has a 2-year legislative ses5 sion, each year of the session is considered to 

6 be a separate regular session of the State legis7 lature. 

8 SEC. 5. HUNGER FREE SCHOOLS. 

9 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 11(a)(1) of the Richard B. 

10 Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 1759a(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(F) DATA-BASED ELIGIBILITY.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A school or local 

15 educational agency may elect to receive 

16 special assistance payments under clause 

17 (ii) in lieu of special assistance payments 

18 otherwise made available under this para19 graph based on applications for free and 

20 reduced price lunches if the school or local 

21 educational agency— 

22 ‘‘(I) elects to serve all children in 

23 the school or local educational agency 

24 free lunches and breakfasts under the 

25 school lunch program and school 


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1 breakfast program established under 

2 section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 

3 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773), during a pe4 riod of 5 successive school years; and 

5 ‘‘(II) pays, from sources other 

6 than Federal funds, the costs of serv7 ing the lunches or breakfasts that are 

8 in excess of the value of assistance re9 ceived under this Act and the Child 

10 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

11 1771 et seq.). 

12 ‘‘(ii) ALTERNATIVE DATA SOURCES.— 

13 Subject to criteria established by the Sec14 retary not later than December 31, 2010, 

15 special assistance payments under clause 

16 (i) may be based on an estimate of the 

17 number of children eligible for free and re18 duced price lunches under section 

19 9(b)(1)(A) derived from recent data other 

20 than applications, including— 

21 ‘‘(I) a socioeconomic survey of a 

22 representative sample of households of 

23 students, which may exclude students 

24 who have been directly certified under 


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1 paragraphs (4), (5), (14), (15), and 

2 (16) of section 9(b); 

3 ‘‘(II) data from the American 

4 Community Survey of the Bureau of 

5 the Census; 

6 ‘‘(III) data on receipt of income7 tested public benefits by students or 

8 the households of students or income 

9 data collected by public benefit pro10 grams, including— 

11 ‘‘(aa) the supplemental nu12 trition assistance program estab13 lished under the Food and Nutri14 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 

15 et seq.); 

16 ‘‘(bb) the medical assistance 

17 program under the State Med18 icaid program under title XIX of 

19 the Social Security Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); 

21 ‘‘(cc) the supplemental secu22 rity income program established 

23 under title XVI of that Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); and 


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1 ‘‘(dd) the program of block 

2 grants to States for temporary 

3 assistance for needy families es4 tablished under part A of title IV 

5 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et 

6 seq.); or 

7 ‘‘(IV) other data, including State 

8 or local survey data and State or local 

9 tax records. 

10 ‘‘(iii) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—The 

11 Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(I) review any proposal sub13 mitted by a school or local educational 

14 agency that relies on the alternative 

15 data sources described in clause (ii) to 

16 develop an estimate of the number of 

17 children eligible for free and reduced 

18 price lunches under section 

19 9(b)(1)(A); and 

20 ‘‘(II) approve the proposals that 

21 meet the criteria established under 

22 clause (ii). 

23 ‘‘(iv) PAYMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(I) FREE MEALS.—For each 

25 month of the period during which a 


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1 school or local educational agency de2 scribed in clause (i) serves free 

3 lunches or breakfasts to all enrolled 

4 children, special assistance payments 

5 at the rate for free meals shall be 

6 made for a percentage of all reimburs7 able meals served that is equal to the 

8 percentage of students estimated to be 

9 eligible for free meals. 

10 ‘‘(II) REDUCED PRICE MEALS.— 

11 For each month of the period during 

12 which the school or local educational 

13 agency serves free lunches or break14 fasts to all enrolled children, special 

15 assistance payments at the rate for 

16 reduced price meals shall be made for 

17 a percentage of all reimbursable meals 

18 served that is equal to the percentage 

19 of students estimated to be eligible for 

20 reduced price meals. 

21 ‘‘(III) OTHER MEALS.—For each 

22 month of the period during which the 

23 school or local educational agency 

24 serves free lunches or breakfasts to all 

25 enrolled children, special assistance 


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1 payments at the rate provided under 

2 section 4 shall be made for the re3 mainder of the reimbursable meals 

4 served. 

5 ‘‘(v) RENEWALS.— 

6 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A school or 

7 local educational agency described in 

8 clause (i) may reapply to the Sec9 retary at the end of the period de10 scribed in clause (i), and at the end of 

11 each period thereafter for which the 

12 school or local educational agency re13 ceives special assistance payments 

14 under this subparagraph, for the pur15 pose of continuing to receive the reim16 bursements and assistance for a sub17 sequent 5-school-year period. 

18 ‘‘(II) APPROVAL.—The Secretary 

19 shall approve an application under 

20 this clause if available socioeconomic 

21 data demonstrate that the income 

22 level of the population of the school or 

23 local educational agency has remained 

24 consistent with or below the income 

25 level of the population of the school or 


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1 local educational agency in the last 

2 year in which reimbursement rates 

3 were determined under clause (ii). 

4 ‘‘(III) DATA.—Not later than 

5 December 31, 2010, the Secretary 

6 shall establish criteria regarding the 

7 socioeconomic data that may be used 

8 by a school or local educational agen9 cy when applying for a renewal of the 

10 special assistance payments for a sub11 sequent 5-school-year period. 

12 ‘‘(G) HIGH-POVERTY AREAS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A school or local 

14 educational agency may elect to receive 

15 special assistance payments under clause 

16 (ii) in lieu of special assistance payments 

17 otherwise made available under this para18 graph based on applications for free and 

19 reduced price lunches if the school or local 

20 educational agency— 

21 ‘‘(I) during a period of 2 succes22 sive school years, selects to serve all 

23 children in the school or local edu24 cational agency free lunches and 

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1 gram under this Act and the school 

2 breakfast program established under 

3 section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 

4 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773); 

5 ‘‘(II) pays, from sources other 

6 than Federal funds, the costs of serv7 ing the lunches or breakfasts that are 

8 in excess of the value of assistance re9 ceived under this Act and the Child 

10 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

11 1771 et seq.); and 

12 ‘‘(III)(aa) for a local educational 

13 agency, during the prior school year, 

14 directly certified under paragraphs 

15 (4), (5), (14), (15), and (16) of sec16 tion 9(b) at least 50 percent of the 

17 enrolled students; 

18 ‘‘(bb) for a school, during the 

19 prior school year, directly certified 

20 under paragraphs (4), (5), (14), (15), 

21 and (16) of section 9(b) at least 60 

22 percent of the enrolled students; or 

23 ‘‘(cc) for a school or local edu24 cational agency that received pay25 ments under this subparagraph for 


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1 the prior school year, directly certifies 

2 under paragraphs (4), (5), (14), (15), 

3 and (16) of section 9(b) at least 40 or 

4 50 percent, respectively, of the en5 rolled students. 

6 ‘‘(ii) PAYMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—For each 

8 month of the school year, special as9 sistance payments at the rate for free 

10 meals shall be made under this sub11 paragraph for a percentage of all re12 imbursable meals served in an amount 

13 equal the product obtained by multi14 plying— 

15 ‘‘(aa) 1.5; by 

16 ‘‘(bb) the percentage of stu17 dents directly certified under 

18 paragraphs (4), (5), (14), (15), 

19 and (16) of section 9(b), up to a 

20 maximum of 100 percent. 

21 ‘‘(II) OTHER MEALS.—The per22 centage of meals served that is not de23 scribed in subclause (I) shall be reim24 bursed at the rate provided under sec25 tion 4. 


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•S 1343 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) ELECTION OF OPTION.— 

2 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Any school 

3 or local educational agency eligible for 

4 the option under clause (i) may elect 

5 to receive special assistance payments 

6 under clause (ii) for the next school 

7 year if the school or local educational 

8 agency provides to the State agency 

9 evidence of the percentage of students 

10 directly certified not later than June 

11 30 of the current school year. 

12 ‘‘(II) STATE AGENCY NOTIFICA13 TION.—Not later than May 1 of each 

14 school year, each State agency shall 

15 notify— 

16 ‘‘(aa) any local educational 

17 agency that appears, based on re18 ported verification summary 

19 data, to have directly certified at 

20 least 50 percent of the enrolled 

21 students for the current school 

22 year, that the local educational 

23 agency may be eligible to elect to 

24 receive special assistance pay25 ments under clause (ii) for the 


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•S 1343 IS

1 next school year and explain the 

2 procedures for the local edu3 cational agency to make such an 

4 election; and 

5 ‘‘(bb) any local educational 

6 agency that appears, based on re7 ported verification summary 

8 data, to have directly certified at 

9 least 40 percent of the enrolled 

10 students for the current school 

11 year, that the local educational 

12 agency may become eligible to 

13 elect to receive special assistance 

14 payments under clause (ii) for a 

15 future school year if the local 

16 educational agency directly cer17 tifies at least 50 percent of the 

18 enrolled students. 

19 ‘‘(III) LOCAL EDUCATION AGEN20 CY NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 

21 May 1 of each school year, each local 

22 educational agency shall notify— 

23 ‘‘(aa) any school that di24 rectly certified at least 60 per25 cent of the enrolled students for 


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30 

•S 1343 IS

1 the current school year, that the 

2 school is eligible to elect to re3 ceive special assistance payments 

4 under clause (ii) for the next 

5 school year and explain the pro6 cedures for the school to make 

7 such an election; and 

8 ‘‘(bb) any school that di9 rectly certified at least 50 per10 cent of the enrolled students for 

11 the current school year, that the 

12 school may become eligible to 

13 elect to receive special assistance 

14 payments under clause (ii) for a 

15 future school year if the school 

16 directly certifies at least 60 per17 cent of the enrolled students. 

18 ‘‘(IV) PROCEDURES.—Not later 

19 than December 31, 2010, the Sec20 retary shall establish procedures for 

21 State agencies, local educational agen22 cies, and schools to meet the require23 ments of this subparagraph and exer24 cise the options provided under this 

25 subparagraph.’’. 


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•S 1343 IS

1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

2 11(a)(1)(B) of the Richard B. Russell National School 

3 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)(B)) is amended by 

4 striking ‘‘or (E)’’ and inserting ‘‘(E), (F), or (G)’’. 

Æ 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS