I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8502 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to improve 
nutrition in tribal areas, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 26, 2022 
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ (for herself, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. STANSBURY, and 
Mr. GALLEGO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
Act to improve nutrition in tribal areas, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tribal Nutrition Im-
provement Act of 2022’’. 
SEC. 2. CATEGORICAL ELIGIBILITY. 
Section 9(b)(5) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(5)) is amended— 
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(1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (E)(ii), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(F) a child who is an enrolled member, or 
who has 1 or more parents who are enrolled 
members, of an Indian tribe (as defined in sec-
tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)).’’. 
SEC. 3. REIMBURSEMENT RATES. 
Section 12(f) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760(f)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘the Common-
wealth’’; 
(2) by inserting ‘‘and geographic areas that 
serve Bureau-funded schools (as defined in section 
1141 of the Education Amendments of 1978 (25 
U.S.C. 2021)) and elementary schools and secondary 
schools (as those terms are defined in section 8101 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) on or near an Indian res-
ervation’’ before ‘‘the Secretary’’; 
(3) by inserting ‘‘or area, as applicable,’’ after 
‘‘such State’’; and 
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(4) by inserting ‘‘or areas, as applicable,’’ after 
‘‘those States’’. 
SEC. 4. TRIBALLY OPERATED MEAL PILOT PROGRAM. 
Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended by inserting after 
subsection (c) the following: 
‘‘(d) TRIBALLY
OPERATED
MEAL
PILOT
PRO-
GRAM.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) COVERED SCHOOL.—The term ‘cov-
ered school’ means— 
‘‘(i) a Bureau-funded school (as de-
fined in section 1141 of the Education 
Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2021)); 
and 
‘‘(ii) an elementary school or sec-
ondary school (as those terms are defined 
in section 8101 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801)) on or near an Indian res-
ervation. 
‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi-
ble entity’ means— 
‘‘(i) an Indian tribe or tribal organiza-
tion approved by an Indian tribe; 
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‘‘(ii) a tribal educational agency; 
‘‘(iii) a consortium of Indian tribes; 
and 
‘‘(iv) a partnership between— 
‘‘(I) an Indian tribe; and 
‘‘(II)(aa) a State educational 
agency; 
‘‘(bb) a local educational agency; 
‘‘(cc) a tribal educational agency; 
or 
‘‘(dd) the Bureau of Indian Edu-
cation. 
‘‘(C) INDIAN
TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian 
tribe’ has the meaning given the term in section 
4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-
cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 
‘‘(D) 
PROGRAM.—The 
term 
‘program’ 
means the pilot program established under 
paragraph (2). 
‘‘(E) TRIBAL
EDUCATIONAL
AGENCY.— 
The term ‘tribal educational agency’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 6132(b) of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7452(b)). 
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‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish a pilot program to award grants to 10 eligi-
ble entities to operate and implement in covered 
schools 1 or more of the following programs: 
‘‘(A) The school lunch program authorized 
under this Act. 
‘‘(B) The summer food service program for 
children established under section 13. 
‘‘(C) The child and adult care food pro-
gram established under section 17. 
‘‘(D) The school breakfast program estab-
lished by section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act 
of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773). 
‘‘(3) TERMS OF GRANT.— 
‘‘(A) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant 
awarded to an eligible entity under the program 
shall be negotiated with the eligible entity, but 
shall be not less than $10,000 and not more 
than $100,000 for each fiscal year. 
‘‘(B) TERM.—A grant awarded to an eligi-
ble entity under the program shall be available 
for a period of 2 years after the date on which 
the grant is received by the eligible entity. 
‘‘(4) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under the program, an eligible entity shall 
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submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 
in such manner, and containing such information as 
the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(5) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION.—In selecting 
eligible entities to receive grants under the program, 
the Secretary shall select eligible entities that— 
‘‘(A) are located in diverse geographic 
areas; and 
‘‘(B) serve Indian tribes of varying popu-
lation size. 
‘‘(6) REIMBURSEMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, an eligible entity that re-
ceives a grant under the program to operate 
and implement a program described in subpara-
graphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (2) 
shall— 
‘‘(i) with respect to the program de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) of that para-
graph, be reimbursed under that program 
as if the eligible entity were a State de-
scribed in section 12(f); 
‘‘(ii) with respect to the program de-
scribed in subparagraph (B) of that para-
graph, be reimbursed under that program 
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as if the eligible entity were a State under 
section 13; 
‘‘(iii) with respect to the program de-
scribed in subparagraph (C) of that para-
graph, be reimbursed under that program 
as if the eligible entity were a State under 
section 17; and 
‘‘(iv) in the case of the program de-
scribed in subparagraph (D) of that para-
graph, shall be reimbursed under that pro-
gram as if the eligible entity were a State 
educational agency. 
‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDS.—An eligi-
ble entity that receives a grant under the pro-
gram shall receive administrative funds at a 
rate that is consistent with the amount received 
by a State under section 7 of the Child Nutri-
tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1776).’’. 
Æ 
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