IIB 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3873
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
MARCH 25, 2004
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
and Forestry 
AN ACT 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to provide 
children with access to food and nutrition assistance, 
to simplify program operations, to improve children’s 
nutritional health, and to restore the integrity of child 
nutrition programs, and for other purposes.
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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 ‘‘Child Nutrition Im-
provement and Integrity Act’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
TITLE I—ENSURING ACCESS TO CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS 
Sec. 101. Exclusion of military housing allowances. 
Sec. 102. Homeless children and runaway youth eligibility. 
Sec. 103. Eligibility for severe need assistance. 
Sec. 104. Reauthorization of summer food programs. 
Sec. 105. Child and adult care food program. 
Sec. 106. Review of best practices in the breakfast program. 
Sec. 107. Area eligibility demonstration. 
Sec. 108. Seamless Summer administration. 
Sec. 109. Year round services for eligible entities. 
TITLE II—IMPROVING PROGRAM QUALITY AND INTEGRITY 
Sec. 201. Eligibility and certification for free and reduced price lunches. 
Sec. 202. Duration of eligibility for free and reduced price lunches. 
Sec. 203. Certification by local educational agencies. 
Sec. 204. Compliance and accountability. 
Sec. 205. Technology Improvement. 
Sec. 206. Minimum State administrative expense grants. 
Sec. 207. District-wide eligibility for special assistance. 
Sec. 208. Administrative error reduction. 
TITLE III—PROMOTING NUTRITION QUALITY AND PREVENTING 
CHILDHOOD OBESITY 
Sec. 301. Local school wellness policy. 
Sec. 302. Supporting nutrition education, improving meal quality, and access to 
local foods. 
Sec. 303. Fruits and vegetable commodities. 
Sec. 304. Fluid milk. 
Sec. 305. Waiver of requirements for weighted averages for nutrient analysis. 
Sec. 306. Whole grains. 
Sec. 307. Fruit and vegetable pilot programs. 
TITLE IV—IMPROVING THE WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN 
PROGRAM 
Sec. 401. Definition of nutrition education.
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Sec. 402. Definition of supplemental foods. 
Sec. 403. Improving certification. 
Sec. 404. Reviews of available supplemental foods. 
Sec. 405. Notification of violations and infant formula benefits. 
Sec. 406. Healthy People 2010 initiative. 
Sec. 407. Competitive bidding. 
Sec. 408. Fruit and vegetable projects. 
Sec. 409. Price levels of retail stores. 
Sec. 410. Management information systems. 
Sec. 411. Infant formula fraud prevention. 
Sec. 412. State alliances. 
Sec. 413. Limits on expenditures. 
Sec. 414. Migrant and community health centers initiative. 
Sec. 415. Demonstration projects. 
Sec. 416. Authorization of appropriations. 
TITLE V—REAUTHORIZATION, MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS, AND 
EFFECTIVE DATE 
Sec. 501. Training, technical, and other assistance. 
Sec. 502. Notice of irradiated food. 
Sec. 503. Sense of Congress. 
Sec. 504. Reauthorization of programs. 
Sec. 505. Effective dates.
TITLE I—ENSURING ACCESS TO 
CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS 
SEC. 101. EXCLUSION OF MILITARY HOUSING ALLOW-
ANCES. 
Section 9(b)(7) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘For each of fiscal years 2002’’ and all that fol-
lows through ‘‘the amount’’ and inserting ‘‘The amount’’. 
SEC. 102. HOMELESS CHILDREN, RUNAWAY YOUTH, AND MI-
GRATORY CHILD ELIGIBILITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(b)(6)(A) of the Richard 
B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
1758(b)(6)(A)) is amended—
(1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘or’’;
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(2) in clause (iii), by striking the period and in-
serting a semicolon; and 
(3) by inserting after clause (iii) the following: 
‘‘(iv) a homeless child or youth (as defined in 
section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As-
sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a)); 
‘‘(v) a youth served by programs under the 
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 
et seq.); or 
‘‘(vi) a migratory child, as such term is defined 
in section 1309(2) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6399(2)).’’. 
(b) DOCUMENTATION.—Section 9(d)(2) of the Rich-
ard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
1758(d)(2)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(D) documentation has been provided to the 
appropriate local educational agency showing that 
the child meets the criteria specified in clauses (iv) 
or (v) of subsection (b)(6)(A); or
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‘‘(E) documentation has been provided to the 
appropriate local educational agency showing the 
child’s status as a migratory child, as such term is 
defined in section 1309(2) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
6399(2)).’’. 
SEC. 103. ELIGIBILITY FOR SEVERE NEED ASSISTANCE. 
Section 4(d) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 
U.S.C. 1773(d)) is amended—
(1) by striking the heading and all that follows 
through paragraph (1), and inserting: 
‘‘(d) SEVERE NEED ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each State educational 
agency shall provide additional assistance to schools 
in severe need, which shall include only those schools 
(having a breakfast program or desiring to initiate 
a breakfast program) in which, during the most re-
cent second preceding school year for which lunches 
were served, 40 percent or more of the lunches 
served to students at the school were served free or 
at a reduced price (or those new schools drawing the 
majority of their attendance from schools receiving 
severe need assistance).’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2)—
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(A) by striking ‘‘100 percent’’ and all that 
follows through ‘‘food, or’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘, whichever is less’’. 
SEC. 104. REAUTHORIZATION OF SUMMER FOOD PRO-
GRAMS. 
(a) SUMMER FOOD PILOT PROJECTS.—Section 18(f) 
of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1769(f)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 
(6) as paragraphs (3) through (7), respectively; 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL STATES ELIGIBLE.—In addi-
tion to the States meeting the criteria set forth in 
paragraph (1), the term ‘eligible State’ means a 
State in which (based on data available in June 
2003)—
‘‘(A) the percentage obtained by dividing—
‘‘(i) the sum of—
‘‘(I) the average daily number of 
children attending the summer food 
service program in the State in July 
2002; and 
‘‘(II) the average daily number of 
children receiving free or reduced
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price meals under the school lunch 
program in the State in July 2002; by 
‘‘(ii) the average daily number of chil-
dren receiving free or reduced price meals 
under the school lunch program in the 
State during the 2001–2002 school year; is 
less than 57 percent of 
‘‘(B) the percentage obtained by dividing—
‘‘(i) the sum of—
‘‘(I) the average daily number of 
children attending the summer food 
service program in all States in July 
2002; and 
‘‘(II) the average daily number of 
children receiving free or reduced 
price meals under the school lunch 
program in all States in July 2002; by 
‘‘(ii) the average daily number of chil-
dren receiving free or reduced price meals 
under the school lunch program in all 
States 
during 
the 
2001–2002 
school 
year.’’; 
(3) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated), by 
striking ‘‘March 31, 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘Sep-
tember 30, 2008’’;
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(4) in paragraph (4) (as so redesignated), by 
striking ‘‘(other than a service institution described 
in section 13(a)(7))’’ both places it appears; and 
(5) in paragraph (7)(B)(i) (as redesignated by 
this section), by striking ‘‘paragraph (5)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘paragraph (6)’’. 
(b) SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM FOR CHIL-
DREN.—Section 13(q) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761(q)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘March 31, 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 
2008’’. 
SEC. 105. CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM. 
(a) ELIGIBILITY
OF PRIVATE CHILD CARE CEN-
TERS.—Section 17 of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(2)(B)(i), by striking ‘‘dur-
ing the period’’ and all that follows through ‘‘March 
31, 2004’’; and 
(2) by striking subsection (p). 
(b) DURATION OF DETERMINATION AS TIER 1 FAM-
ILY
OR
GROUP
DAY
CARE
HOME.—Section 
17(f)(3)(E)(iii) of the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(f)(3)(E)(iii)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘3 years’’ and inserting ‘‘5 years’’.
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(c) DURATION OF AGREEMENTS.—Section 17(j) of 
the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1766(j)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(j) AGREEMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may issue 
regulations directing States to develop and provide 
for the use of a standard form of agreement between 
each family or group day care sponsoring organiza-
tion and the family or group day care homes partici-
pating in the program under such organization, for 
the purpose of specifying the rights and responsibil-
ities of each party. 
‘‘(2) DURATION.—An agreement under para-
graph (1) shall remain in effect until terminated by 
either party to the agreement.’’. 
(d) MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT INITIATIVE.—Sec-
tion 17(q)(3) of the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(q)(3)) is amended by striking 
‘‘1999 through 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘2005 and 2006’’. 
(e) AUDITS.—Section 17(i) of the Richard B. Russell 
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(i)) is amend-
ed to read as follows: 
‘‘(i) AUDITS.—
‘‘(1) FUNDS FOR AUDITS.—The Secretary shall 
make available for each fiscal year to a State admin-
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istering the child and adult care food program, for 
the purpose of conducting audits of participating in-
stitutions, an amount up to 1.5 percent (except in 
the case of fiscal years 2005 through 2007, 1 per-
cent) of the funds used by the State in the program 
under this section during the second preceding fiscal 
year. 
‘‘(2) AUDIT PROCEDURES.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), in conducting management evalua-
tions, reviews, or audits of the program under 
this subsection, the Secretary or a State agency 
may disregard any overpayment to an institu-
tion if the total overpayment for any fiscal year 
does not exceed an amount, consistent with the 
disregards allowed in other programs under this 
Act, which recognizes the cost of collecting 
small claims. 
‘‘(B) CRIMINAL OR FRAUD VIOLATIONS.—
In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary 
and a State agency shall not disregard any 
overpayment for which there is evidence of a 
violation of a criminal law or civil fraud law.’’.
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(f) EMERGENCY SHELTERS.—Section 17(t)(5)(A)(i) 
of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1766(t)(5)(A)(i) is amended—
(1) in subclause (I)—
(A) by striking ‘‘12’’ and inserting ‘‘18’’; 
and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 
and 
(2) by striking subclause (II) and redesignating 
subclause (III) as subclause (II). 
(g) PAPERWORK REDUCTION.—The Secretary of Ag-
riculture, in conjunction with States and participating in-
stitutions, shall examine the feasibility of reducing paper 
work resulting from regulations and record-keeping re-
quirements for State agencies, family child care homes, 
child care centers, and sponsoring organizations partici-
pating in the child and adult care food program estab-
lished under section 17 of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766). 
SEC. 106. REVIEW OF BEST PRACTICES IN THE BREAKFAST 
PROGRAM. 
(a) REVIEW.—Subject to the availability of funds, the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into an agreement 
with a research organization to collect and disseminate a 
review of best practices to assist schools in addressing ex-
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isting impediments at the State and local level that hinder 
the growth of the school breakfast program under section 
4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773). 
The review shall describe model breakfast programs and 
offer recommendations for schools to overcome obstacles, 
such as: 
(1) the length of the school day; 
(2) bus schedules; and 
(3) potential increases in costs at the State and 
local level. 
(b) DISSEMINATION.—Not later than 12 months 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
make the review required under subsection (a) available 
to local educational agencies via the Internet, including 
recommendations to improve participation in the school 
breakfast program. Not later than 12 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the review shall also be 
transmitted to the Committee on Education of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture of 
the Senate. 
SEC. 107. AREA ELIGIBILITY DEMONSTRATION. 
Section 13 of the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
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‘‘(r) DEMONSTRATION.—For fiscal years 2004 
through 2008, in rural areas of the State of Pennsylvania, 
the threshold for determining ‘areas in which poor eco-
nomic conditions exist’ under subsection (a)(1)(C) for the 
program authorized by this section shall be 40 percent of 
children enrolled are eligible for free or reduced price 
school meals and the State agency shall report to the Sec-
retary on the effect of the demonstration on program par-
ticipation in rural areas.’’. 
SEC. 108. SEAMLESS SUMMER ADMINISTRATION. 
(a) SEAMLESS SUMMER WAIVER.—Section 13(a) of 
the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1761(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph 
(7) the following: 
‘‘(8) Service institutions that are public or pri-
vate nonprofit school food authorities may admin-
ister summer or school vacation food service under 
the provisions of the school lunch program estab-
lished under this Act and the school breakfast pro-
gram established under the Child Nutrition Act of 
1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), except as determined 
by the Secretary.’’. 
(b) PAYMENTS.—Section 13(b)(1) of the Richard B. 
Russell 
National 
School 
Lunch 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C.
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1761(b)(1)) is amended by inserting after subparagraph 
(C) the following: 
‘‘(D) Service institutions described in para-
graph (a)(8) of this section shall be reimbursed 
for meals and meal supplements in accordance 
with the applicable provisions under this Act 
(other than subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of 
this paragraph) and the Child Nutrition Act of 
1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), as determined 
by the Secretary.’’. 
SEC. 109. YEAR ROUND SERVICES FOR ELIGIBLE ENTITIES. 
Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) YEAR ROUND SERVICES FOR ELIGIBLE ENTI-
TIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A service institution (as de-
fined in section 13(a)(6) or 13(a)(7) of this Act) lo-
cated in California may be reimbursed for up to 3 
meals and 2 supplements for any day for which serv-
ices are being offered at such institution. Such serv-
ice institution shall be reimbursed for costs con-
sistent with section 13(b)(1) of this Act. 
‘‘(2) EXEMPTIONS.—A service institution that 
receives assistance under this subsection shall com-
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ply with all provisions of section 13 of this Act other 
than subsections 13(b)(2) and 13(c)(1). 
‘‘(3) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall provide to 
the State of California an amount not to exceed 
$1,000,000 for fiscal years 2004 through 2008, for 
the additional reimbursement costs for meals and 
supplements authorized by this subsection.’’. 
TITLE II—IMPROVING PROGRAM 
QUALITY AND INTEGRITY 
SEC. 201. ELIGIBILITY AND CERTIFICATION FOR FREE AND 
REDUCED PRICE LUNCHES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(b) of the Richard B. 
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758) is 
amended by striking ‘‘(b)(1)(A) Not later’’ and all that 
follows through paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR FREE AND REDUCED PRICE 
LUNCHES.—
‘‘(1) INCOME GUIDELINES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 1 
of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall prescribe 
income guidelines for determining eligibility for 
free and reduced price lunches during the 12-
month period beginning July 1 of such fiscal 
year and ending June 30 of the following fiscal 
year. The income guidelines for determining eli-
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gibility for free lunches shall be 130 percent of 
the applicable family size income levels con-
tained in the nonfarm income poverty guidelines 
issued by the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, as adjusted annually in accordance 
with subparagraph (B). The income guidelines 
for determining eligibility for reduced price 
lunches for any school year shall be 185 percent 
of the applicable family size income levels con-
tained in the nonfarm income poverty guidelines 
issued by the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, as adjusted annually in accordance 
with subparagraph (B). Such guidelines shall be 
revised at annual intervals, or at any shorter in-
terval deemed feasible and desirable. 
‘‘(B) FORMULA FOR REVISION.—The revi-
sion required by subparagraph (A) of this para-
graph shall be made by multiplying—
‘‘(i) the official poverty line (as de-
fined by the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services); by 
‘‘(ii) the percentage change in the 
Consumer Price Index during the annual 
or other interval immediately preceding the 
time at which the adjustment is made.
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Revisions under this subparagraph shall be 
made not more than 30 days after the date on 
which the Consumer Price Index data required 
to compute the adjustment becomes available. 
‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—
‘‘(A) ANNOUNCEMENT
BY
STATE
EDU-
CATIONAL AGENCY.—Following the determina-
tion by the Secretary under paragraph (1) of 
this subsection of the income eligibility guide-
lines for each school year, each State edu-
cational agency shall announce the income eligi-
bility guidelines, by family size, to be used by 
schools in the State in making determinations 
of eligibility for free and reduced price lunches. 
Local educational agencies shall, each year, 
publicly announce the income eligibility guide-
lines for free and reduced price lunches on or 
before the opening of school. 
‘‘(B) APPLICATIONS.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Applications for 
free and reduced price lunches, in such 
form as the Secretary may prescribe or ap-
prove, and any descriptive material, in an 
understandable and uniform format, and 
to the extent practicable, in a language
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that parents can understand, shall be dis-
tributed at least annually to the parents or 
guardians of children in attendance at the 
school. 
‘‘(ii) INCOME
LEVELS.—Applications 
and descriptive material shall contain only 
the family size income eligibility guidelines 
for reduced price meal eligibility, with the 
explanation that households with incomes 
less than or equal to these values would be 
eligible for free or reduced price lunches. 
Such applications and descriptive material 
may not contain the income eligibility 
guidelines for free lunches. 
‘‘(iii) 
NOTIFICATION.—Descriptive 
materials shall contain a notification that 
participants in the Special Supplemental 
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, 
and Children authorized under Section 17 
of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 
U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), the food stamp pro-
gram established under the Food Stamp 
Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), the 
Food Distribution Program on Indian Res-
ervations (FDPIR) authorized under sec-
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tion 4(b) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 
(7 U.S.C. 2013(b)), or a State program 
funded under part A of title IV of the So-
cial Security Act (if the Secretary deter-
mines the State program complies with 
standards established by the Secretary that 
ensure that the standards under the State 
program are comparable to or more re-
strictive than those in effect on June 1, 
1995) may be eligible for free or reduced 
price lunches. Such descriptive materials 
shall also contain a notice to parents that 
documentation 
may 
be 
requested 
for 
verification. 
‘‘(iv) ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY.—In 
addition to the distribution of such appli-
cations and descriptive material in paper 
form as provided for in this paragraph, 
such applications and material may be 
made available electronically via the Inter-
net. 
‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY.—
‘‘(i) HOUSEHOLD APPLICATIONS.—
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—If an eligi-
bility determination for a child is not
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made under clause (ii) or (iii), an eli-
gibility determination shall be made 
on the basis of a complete household 
application executed by an adult mem-
ber of the household, or in accordance 
with other guidance issued by the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(II) ADDITIONAL BASES.—Eligi-
bility may be determined by the local 
educational agency on the basis of a 
complete application executed by an 
adult member of the household, or in 
accordance with other guidance issued 
by the Secretary, including an elec-
tronic signature when the application 
is submitted electronically, and if the 
application filing system meets con-
fidentiality standards established by 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(III) CHILDREN
IN
HOUSE-
HOLD.—
‘‘(aa) IN
GENERAL.—The 
application 
shall 
identify 
the 
names of each child in the house-
hold for whom meal benefits are
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requested, as well as the total 
number of members of the house-
hold. 
‘‘(bb) SEPARATE
APPLICA-
TIONS.—A 
State 
educational 
agency or local educational agen-
cy may not request a separate 
application for each child in the 
household, if the children in the 
household attend schools in the 
same local educational agency. 
‘‘(IV) VERIFICATION.—The Sec-
retary, State, or local educational 
agency may verify any data contained 
in such application. In accordance 
with guidance issued by the Secretary, 
each local educational agency shall 
verify a sample of approved free and 
reduced price applications and shall 
make appropriate changes in the eligi-
bility determination with respect to 
such applications on the basis of such 
verification. The sample selected for 
verification shall be as follows:
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‘‘(aa) For local educational 
agencies 
unable 
to 
obtain 
verification information for no 
more than 25 percent of all ap-
plications selected for verification 
in the prior year, or local edu-
cational agencies receiving more 
than 20,000 applications and 
that in the prior year had a 
verification 
non-response 
rate 
that was 10 percent below the 
verification non-response rate of 
the second prior year, the sample 
selected shall be either—
‘‘(AA) the lesser of 
3,000 or 3 percent of ap-
proved applications selected 
at random by the local edu-
cational agencies from all 
approved applications; or 
‘‘(BB) the lesser of 
1,000 or 1 percent of all ap-
proved applications selected 
from applications that indi-
cate monthly income that is
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within $100, or annual in-
come that is within $1,200, 
of the income eligibility lim-
its for free or reduced price 
meals, plus the lesser of 500 
or 1⁄2 of 1 percent of ap-
proved applications that pro-
vided a case number in lieu 
of income information show-
ing participation in the food 
stamp program, the Tem-
porary Assistance for Needy 
Families program, or the 
Food Distribution Program 
on 
Indian 
Reservations 
(FDPIR) 
selected 
from 
those approved applications 
that provided a case number 
in lieu of income information 
verifying such participation. 
If, for any local educational 
agency, the total number of 
applications 
that 
indicate 
monthly income that is with-
in $100, or annual income
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that is within $1,200, of the 
income eligibility limits for 
free or reduced price meals 
is less than 1,500 or 1 and 
1⁄2 percent of all approved 
applications, the local edu-
cational agency shall select 
additional 
applications 
at 
random from all approved 
applications in order to ob-
tain a total sample for 
verification of 1,500 or 1 
and 1⁄2 percent of all ap-
proved applications. 
‘‘(bb) For all other local 
educational agencies, the sample 
selected shall be the lesser of 
3,000 or 3 percent of all ap-
proved applications selected from 
applications that indicate month-
ly income that is within $100, or 
annual income that is within 
$1,200, of the income eligibility 
limits for free or reduced price 
meals. If, for any local edu-
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cational agency, the total number 
of such applications is less than 
3,000 or 3 percent of all ap-
proved applications, the local 
educational agency shall select 
additional applications at random 
from all approved applications in 
order to obtain a total sample for 
verification of 3,000 or 3 percent 
of all approved applications. 
‘‘(V) SUBSTITUTIONS.—
‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—In ac-
cordance with the regulations 
prescribed by the Secretary, the 
local educational agency may, 
upon individual review, decline to 
verify any application selected 
under subclause (IV) and replace 
it with another application to be 
verified. Such agency may decline 
to verify no more than 2 percent 
of the applications selected for 
verification under this subclause. 
‘‘(bb) SUBSTITUTE CRITERIA 
IN
CASES
OF
EMERGENCIES.—
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The Secretary may substitute al-
ternative criteria for the sample 
size and sample selection criteria 
in subclause (IV) to address a 
natural disaster, civil disorder, 
strike, or other local condition. 
‘‘(VI) DIRECT VERIFICATION.—
‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—In ac-
cordance with regulations pro-
mulgated by the Secretary, in 
verifying the sample selected in 
accordance with subclause (IV), 
the local educational agency may 
first obtain from certain public 
agencies administering the pro-
grams identified in item (bb) of 
this subclause, and similar in-
come-tested programs, informa-
tion to verify eligibility for free or 
reduced price meals. 
‘‘(bb) 
PUBLIC
AGENCY 
RECORDS.—Public 
agency 
records that may be used to 
verify eligibility for free meals 
shall include income information
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relied upon within 12 months 
prior to verification under sub-
clause (IV) in the administration 
of the following programs: the 
food stamp program established 
under the Food Stamp Act of 
1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); the 
State program funded under part 
A of title IV of the Social Secu-
rity Act; the Food Distribution 
Program on Indian Reservations 
(FDPIR) authorized under sec-
tion 4(b) of the Food Stamp Act 
of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2013(b)); and 
the 
State 
Medicaid 
program 
under title XIX of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 
seq.) in a State in which the in-
come eligibility limit described in 
section 1902(l)(2)(C) of the So-
cial Security Act is no higher 
than 133 percent of the income 
official poverty line as specified 
in section 1902(l)(2)(A) of such 
Act, in the case of eligibility for
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free meals, and 185 percent of 
the income official poverty line as 
specified in such section in the 
case of reduced price meals. 
‘‘(VII) PLAIN, UNDERSTANDABLE 
LANGUAGE.—Any and all communica-
tions to parents regarding verification 
under subclause (IV) shall be in an 
understandable and uniform format, 
and, to the extent practicable, in a 
language that parents can under-
stand. 
‘‘(ii) DIRECT
CERTIFICATION
FOR 
CHILDREN
IN
FOOD
STAMP
HOUSE-
HOLDS.—
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—Each State 
agency shall, to the extent practicable, 
enter into an agreement with the 
State agency conducting eligibility de-
terminations for the food stamp pro-
gram established under the Food 
Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et 
seq.). 
‘‘(II) PROCEDURES.—Subject to 
clause (iv), the agreement shall estab-
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lish procedures under which a child 
who is a member of a household re-
ceiving assistance under the program 
referred to in subclause (I) shall be 
certified as eligible for free meals 
under this Act, without further appli-
cation. 
‘‘(III) DIRECT CERTIFICATION.—
Subject to clause (iv), under the 
agreement, the local educational agen-
cy conducting eligibility determina-
tions for a school meal program con-
ducted under this Act shall certify a 
child who is a member of a household 
receiving assistance under the pro-
gram referred to in subclause (I) as 
eligible for free meals under this Act 
without further application. 
‘‘(IV) NOTICE.—The appropriate 
local educational agency shall provide 
annually to the parents or guardians 
of all students who are members of a 
household receiving assistance under 
the program referred to in subclause 
(I), notification, in an understandable
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and uniform format, and, to the ex-
tent practicable, in a language that 
parents can understand, that any 
school-aged child in that household is 
eligible for free lunches or breakfasts. 
‘‘(iii) 
DIRECT
CERTIFICATION
OF 
CHILDREN IN OTHER HOUSEHOLDS.—Sub-
ject to clause (iv), any local educational 
agency may certify any child as eligible for 
free lunches or breakfasts, without further 
application, by directly communicating 
with the appropriate State or local agency 
to obtain documentation of such child’s 
status as a migratory child, as such term 
is defined in section 1309(2) of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6399(2)), or a member of 
a family that is receiving assistance under 
a State program funded under part A of 
title IV of the Social Security Act if the 
Secretary determines the State program 
complies with standards established by the 
Secretary that ensure that the standards 
under the State program are comparable
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to or more restrictive than those in effect 
on June 1, 1995. 
‘‘(iv) 
DISCLOSURE
OF
INFORMA-
TION.—The use or disclosure of any infor-
mation obtained from an application for 
free or reduced price meals, or from a 
State or local agency referred to in clauses 
(ii) and (iii), shall be limited to—
‘‘(I) a person directly connected 
with the administration or enforce-
ment of this Act or the Child Nutri-
tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et 
seq.), or a regulation issued pursuant 
to either Act; 
‘‘(II) a person directly connected 
with the administration or enforce-
ment of—
‘‘(aa) a Federal education 
program; 
‘‘(bb) a State health or edu-
cation program administered by 
the State or local educational 
agency (other than a program 
carried out under title XIX of
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the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); or 
‘‘(cc) a Federal, State, or 
local means-tested nutrition pro-
gram with eligibility standards 
comparable to the program under 
this section; 
‘‘(III)(aa) the Comptroller Gen-
eral of the United States for audit 
and examination authorized by any 
other provision of law; and 
‘‘(bb) notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, a Federal, State, or 
local law enforcement official for the 
purpose of investigating an alleged 
violation of any program requirements 
under paragraph (1) or this para-
graph; and 
‘‘(IV) a person directly connected 
with the administration of the State 
Medicaid program under title XIX of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1396 et seq.) or the State children’s 
health insurance program under title 
XXI of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et
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seq.) solely for the purpose of identi-
fying children eligible for benefits 
under, and enrolling children in, such 
programs, except that this subclause 
shall apply only to the extent that the 
State and the local educational agency 
so elect. 
‘‘(v) LIMITATION.—Information pro-
vided under clause (iv)(II) shall be limited 
to the income eligibility status of the child 
for whom application for free or reduced 
price meal benefits was made or for whom 
eligibility information was provided under 
clause (ii) or (iii), unless the consent of the 
parent or guardian of the child for whom 
application for benefits was made is ob-
tained. 
‘‘(vi) PENALTY
FOR
UNAUTHORIZED 
DISCLOSURE.—A 
person 
described 
in 
clause (iv) who publishes, divulges, dis-
closes, or makes known in any manner, or 
to any extent not authorized by Federal 
law (including a regulation), any informa-
tion obtained under this subsection shall be
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fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned 
not more than 1 year, or both. 
‘‘(vii) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
WAIVER 
OF CONFIDENTIALITY.—A State that elects 
to exercise the option described in clause 
(iv)(IV) shall ensure that any local edu-
cational agency acting in accordance with 
that option—
‘‘(I) has a written agreement 
with the State or local agency or 
agencies administering health insur-
ance programs for children under ti-
tles XIX and XXI of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq. and 
1397aa et seq.) that requires the 
health agencies to use the information 
obtained under clause (iv) to seek to 
enroll children in those health insur-
ance programs; and 
‘‘(II)(aa) notifies each household, 
the information of which shall be dis-
closed under clause (iv), that the in-
formation disclosed will be used only 
to enroll children in health programs 
referred to in clause (iv)(IV); and
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‘‘(bb) provides each parent or 
guardian of a child in the household 
with an opportunity to elect not to 
have the information disclosed. 
‘‘(viii) USE OF DISCLOSED INFORMA-
TION.—A person to which information is 
disclosed under clause (iv)(IV) shall use or 
disclose the information only as necessary 
for the purpose of enrolling children in 
health programs referred to in clause 
(iv)(IV). 
‘‘(D) FREE AND REDUCED PRICE POLICY 
STATEMENT.—After the initial submission, a 
local educational agency shall not be required to 
submit a free and reduced price policy state-
ment to a State educational agency under this 
Act unless there is a substantive change in the 
free and reduced price policy of the local edu-
cational agency. A routine change in the policy 
of a local educational agency, such as an annual 
adjustment of the income eligibility guidelines 
for free and reduced price meals, shall not be 
sufficient cause for requiring the local edu-
cational agency to submit a policy statement.’’.
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(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 9(b)(6)(B) 
of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1758(b)(6)(B) is amended by inserting ‘‘, or docu-
mentation showing the child’s status as a migratory child, 
as such term is defined in section 1309(2) of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
6399(2))’’ after ‘‘subparagraph (A)(iii)’’. 
SEC. 202. DURATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR FREE AND RE-
DUCED PRICE LUNCHES. 
Section 9(b)(3) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(3)) is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY
FOR
FREE
AND
REDUCED 
PRICE LUNCHES.—
‘‘(A) FREE LUNCHES.—Any child who is a 
member of a household whose income, at the 
time the application is submitted, is at an an-
nual rate which does not exceed the applicable 
family size income level of the income eligibility 
guidelines for free lunches, as determined under 
paragraph (1), shall be served a free lunch. 
‘‘(B) REDUCED PRICE LUNCHES.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any child who is a 
member of a household whose income, at 
the time the application is submitted, is at
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an annual rate greater than the applicable 
family size income level of the income eligi-
bility guidelines for free lunches, as deter-
mined under paragraph (1), but less than 
or equal to the applicable family size in-
come level of the income eligibility guide-
lines for reduced price lunches, as deter-
mined under paragraph (1), shall be served 
a reduced price lunch. 
‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM
PRICE.—The price 
charged for a reduced price lunch shall not 
exceed 40 cents. 
‘‘(C) DURATION.—Except as otherwise 
specified 
in 
section 
11(a) 
or 
section 
9(b)(2)(C)(i)(IV), eligibility for free or reduced 
price meals for any school year shall remain in 
effect—
‘‘(i) beginning on the date of eligi-
bility approval for the current school year; 
and 
‘‘(ii) ending on the date of the begin-
ning of school in the subsequent school 
year or as otherwise specified by the Sec-
retary.’’.
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SEC. 203. CERTIFICATION BY LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN-
CIES. 
(a) CERTIFICATION BY LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN-
CY.—Section 9 of the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758) is further amended—
(1) in subsection (b)(5), by striking ‘‘Local 
school authorities’’ and inserting ‘‘Local educational 
agencies’’; and 
(2) in subsection (d)(2)—
(A) by striking ‘‘local school food author-
ity’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘local 
educational agency’’; and 
(B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘such 
authority’’ and inserting ‘‘the local educational 
agency’’. 
(b) DEFINITION
OF LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN-
CY.—Section 12(d) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760(d)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 
(8) as paragraphs (4) through (9), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘local edu-
cational agency’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 9101 of the Elementary and
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Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7801). 
‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘local edu-
cational agency’ includes, in the case of a pri-
vate nonprofit school food authority, an appro-
priate entity determined by the Secretary.’’. 
(c) 
SCHOOL
BREAKFAST
PROGRAM.—Section 
4(b)(1)(E)) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
1773(b)(1)(E)) is amended by striking ‘‘school food au-
thority’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘local edu-
cational agency’’. 
SEC. 204. COMPLIANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 
Section 22 of the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769c) is amended by inserting 
‘‘and local educational agencies’’ after ‘‘food service au-
thorities’’ each place it appears. 
SEC. 205. TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENT. 
(a) PRIORITY FOR REALLOCATED FUNDS.—Section 
7(a)(5)(B)(ii) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 
U.S.C. 1776(a)(5)(B)(ii)) is amended by inserting the fol-
lowing new sentence at the end: ‘‘The Secretary shall give 
special consideration to States that will use the funds for 
improvements in technology and information management 
systems described in subsection (e)(2).’’.
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(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7(b) of the 
Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1776(b)) is 
amended by striking ‘‘and for staff development’’ and in-
serting ‘‘for staff development; and technology and infor-
mation management systems’’. 
SEC. 206. MINIMUM STATE ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE 
GRANTS. 
Section 7(a) of the Child Nutrition Act (42 U.S.C. 
1776(a)(1)) is further amended—
(1) by striking the heading and all that follows 
through paragraph (1), and inserting the following: 
‘‘SEC. 7. STATE ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES. 
‘‘(a) AMOUNT AND ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—
‘‘(1) AMOUNT AVAILABLE.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), each fiscal year the Sec-
retary shall make available to the States for 
their Administrative costs an amount equal to 
not less than 11⁄2 percent of the Federal funds 
expended under sections 4, 11, 17, and 17A of 
the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1753, 1759a) 1766, and 
1766a)) and sections 3 and 4 of this Act during 
the second preceding fiscal year.
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‘‘(B) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—In the case of 
each of fiscal years 2005 through 2007, the 
Secretary shall make available to each State for 
their administrative costs not less than the ini-
tial allocation made to the State under this sub-
section for fiscal year 2004. 
‘‘(C) ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall 
allocate the funds so provided in accordance 
with paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of this sub-
section. 
‘‘(D) 
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 
such sums as may be necessary to carry out the 
purposes of this section.’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ 
and inserting ‘‘$200,000’’. 
SEC. 207. DISTRICT-WIDE ELIGIBILITY FOR SPECIAL AS-
SISTANCE. 
Section 11(a)(1) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (C)—
(A) in clause (i)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘in the case of any school’’;
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(ii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘in the school’’ both times it appears; 
(iii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘in the case of a school’’; and 
(iv) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘with respect to the school’’; 
(B) in clause (ii)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘served by a school’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘served by the school’’; and 
(C) in clause (iii) by inserting ‘‘or school 
district’’ after ‘‘a school’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (D)—
(A) in clause (i)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘any school’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘the school’’; 
(B) in clause (ii)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘A school’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘the school’’; 
(C) in clause (iii)—
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(i) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘a school’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘the school’’; and 
(D) in clause (iv) by inserting ‘‘or school 
district’’ after ‘‘levels, a school’’; and 
(3) in subparagraph (E)—
(A) in clause (i)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘In the case of any school’’; 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘in the school’’ both times it appears; 
(iii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘in the case of a school’’; 
(iv) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘with respect to the school’’; 
(v) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘received by the school’’; and 
(vi) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘for which the school’’; and 
(B) in clause (ii)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘A school’’;
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(ii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘for which the school’’ both times it 
appears; and 
(iii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’ 
after ‘‘population of the school’’ both times 
it appears. 
SEC. 208. ADMINISTRATIVE ERROR REDUCTION. 
(a) FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR TRAINING AND TECH-
NICAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 21 of the Richard B. Russell 
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769b-1) is 
amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (g); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATIVE TRAINING
AND TECHNICAL 
ASSISTANCE MATERIALS.—In collaboration with State 
educational agencies, school food authorities, and local 
educational agencies of varying sizes, the Secretary shall 
develop and distribute training and technical assistance 
materials relating to the administration of school meal 
programs that are—
‘‘(1) prepared by the Secretary (based on re-
search or other sources), a State educational agency,
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a school food authority, or a local educational agen-
cy; and 
‘‘(2) representative of the best management and 
administrative practices of State agencies, school 
food authorities, and local educational agencies as 
determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(f) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—
‘‘(1) FUNDING.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Out of any funds in 
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the 
Secretary of Agriculture to carry out this sub-
section—
‘‘(i) on October 1, 2004 and October 
1, 2005, $3,000,000; and 
‘‘(ii) on October 1, 2006, and October 
1, 2007, $2,000,000. 
‘‘(B) RECEIPT
AND
ACCEPTANCE.—The 
Secretary shall be entitled to receive, shall ac-
cept, and shall use to carry out this subsection 
the funds transferred under subparagraph (A), 
without further appropriation. 
‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY
OF
FUNDS.—Funds 
transferred under subparagraph (A) shall re-
main available until expended.
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‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary may use 
funds provided under this subsection—
‘‘(A) to provide training and technical as-
sistance related to administrative practices de-
signed to improve program integrity and admin-
istrative accuracy in school meals programs (in-
cluding administrative requirements established 
by the Child Nutrition Improvement and Integ-
rity Act and amendments made by that Act) to 
State educational agencies and, to the extent 
determined by the Secretary, to school food au-
thorities and local educational agencies; 
‘‘(B) to assist State educational agencies 
in reviewing the administrative practices of 
school food authorities, to the extent deter-
mined by the Secretary; and 
‘‘(C) to carry out the activities described in 
subsection (e).’’. 
(b) SELECTED ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEWS.—Section 
22(b) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1769c(b)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REVIEW REQUIREMENT FOR 
SELECTED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—
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‘‘(A) DEFINITION
OF
SELECTED
LOCAL 
EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—In this paragraph, the 
term ‘selected local educational agency’ means a 
local educational agency that has a dem-
onstrated a high level of, or a high risk for, ad-
ministrative error, as determined by the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL
ADMINISTRATIVE
RE-
VIEW.—In addition to any review required by 
subsection (a) or paragraph (1), each State 
educational agency shall conduct an administra-
tive review of each selected local educational 
agency during the review cycle established 
under subsection (a). 
‘‘(C) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—In carrying out 
a review under subparagraph (B), a State edu-
cational agency shall only review the adminis-
trative processes of a selected local educational 
agency, 
including 
application, 
certification, 
verification, meal counting, and meal claiming 
procedures. 
‘‘(D) RESULTS OF REVIEW.—If the State 
educational agency determines (on the basis of 
a review conducted under subparagraph (B)) 
that a selected local educational agency fails to
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meet performance criteria established by the 
Secretary, the State educational agency shall—
‘‘(i) require the selected local edu-
cational agency to develop and carry out 
an approved plan of corrective action; 
‘‘(ii) except to the extent technical as-
sistance is provided directly by the Sec-
retary, provide technical assistance to as-
sist the selected local educational agency in 
carrying out the corrective action plan; and 
‘‘(iii) conduct a follow-up review of 
the selected local educational agency under 
standards established by the Secretary. 
‘‘(4) RECOVERING FUNDS AFTER ADMINISTRA-
TIVE REVIEWS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graphs (B) and (C), if the local educational 
agency fails to meet administrative performance 
criteria established by the Secretary in both an 
initial review and a follow-up review under 
paragraph (1) or (3) or subsection (a), the Sec-
retary may require the State educational agency 
to recover funds from the local educational 
agency that would otherwise be paid to the 
school food authority or local educational agen-
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cy for school meals programs under procedures 
prescribed by the Secretary. 
‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The amount of funds re-
covered under subparagraph (A) shall equal the 
value of any overpayments made to the school 
food authority or local educational agency as a 
result of an erroneous claim during the time pe-
riod described in subparagraph (C). 
‘‘(C) TIME PERIOD.—The period for deter-
mining the value of any such overpayments 
under subparagraph (B) shall be the period—
‘‘(i) beginning on the date the erro-
neous claim was made; and 
‘‘(ii) ending on the earlier of the date 
the erroneous claim is corrected or—
‘‘(I) in the case of the first re-
view conducted by the State edu-
cational agency of the local edu-
cational agency under this section 
after July 1, 2005, the date that is 60 
days after the beginning of the period 
under clause (i); or 
‘‘(II) in the case of any subse-
quent review conducted by the State 
educational agency of the local edu-
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cational agency under this section, the 
date that is 90 days after the begin-
ning of the period under clause (i). 
‘‘(5) USE OF RECOVERED FUNDS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), funds recovered under paragraph 
(4) shall—
‘‘(i) be returned to the Secretary 
under procedures established by the Sec-
retary, and may be used—
‘‘(I) to provide training and tech-
nical assistance related to administra-
tive practices designed to improve pro-
gram integrity and administrative ac-
curacy in school meals programs (in-
cluding administrative requirements 
established by the Child Nutrition Im-
provement and Integrity Act and 
amendments made by that Act) to 
State educational agencies and, to the 
extent determined by the Secretary, to 
school food authorities and local edu-
cational agencies; 
‘‘(II) to assist State educational 
agencies in reviewing the administra-
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tive practices of school food authori-
ties, to the extent determined by the 
Secretary; and 
‘‘(III) to carry out section 21(e); 
or 
‘‘(ii) be credited to the child nutrition 
programs appropriation account. 
‘‘(B) STATE SHARE.—Subject to subpara-
graph (C), a State educational agency may re-
tain not more than 25 percent of an amount re-
covered under paragraph (4), to carry out 
school meals program integrity initiatives to as-
sist school food authorities and local edu-
cational agencies that have repeatedly failed (as 
determined by the Secretary) to meet adminis-
trative performance criteria. 
‘‘(C) REQUIREMENT.—To be eligible to re-
tain funds under subparagraph (B), a State 
educational agency shall—
‘‘(i) submit to the Secretary a plan 
describing how the State educational agen-
cy will use the funds to improve school 
meals program integrity, including meas-
ures to give priority to school food authori-
ties and local educational agencies from
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which funds were retained under para-
graph (4); and 
‘‘(ii) obtain the approval of the Sec-
retary for the plan.’’. 
(c) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Sec-
tion 7 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
1776) is amended—
(1) in subsection (e)—
(A) by striking ‘‘(e) Each’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(e) PLANS FOR USE OF ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE 
FUNDS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘After submitting’’ and all 
that follows through ‘‘change in the plan.’’, and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(2) UPDATES
AND
INFORMATION
MANAGE-
MENT SYSTEMS.—After submitting the initial plan, a 
State shall be required to submit to the Secretary 
for approval only a substantive change in the plan. 
Each State plan shall at a minimum include a de-
scription of how technology and information man-
agement systems will be used to improve program 
integrity by—
HR 3873 RFS 
‘‘(A) monitoring the nutrient content of 
meals served; 
‘‘(B) training schools and school food au-
thorities how to utilize technology and informa-
tion management systems for activities such as 
menu planning, collecting point of sale data, 
processing applications for free and reduced 
price meals and verifying eligibility for free and 
reduced price meals using existing databases to 
access program participation or income data 
collected by State or local educational agencies; 
and 
‘‘(C) using electronic data to establish 
benchmarks to compare and monitor program 
integrity, program participation, and financial 
data across schools and school food authorities. 
‘‘(3) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—
Each State shall submit to the Secretary for ap-
proval a plan describing the manner in which the 
State intends to implement subsection (g) and sec-
tion 22(b)(3) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (as added by section 208 of the 
Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act).’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub-
section (i); and
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(3) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(g) STATE TRAINING.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—At least annually, each 
State shall provide training in administrative prac-
tices (including training in application, certification, 
verification, meal counting, and meal claiming proce-
dures) to school food authority administrative per-
sonnel and other appropriate personnel, with empha-
sis on the requirements established by the Child Nu-
trition Improvement and Integrity Act and the 
amendments made by that Act. 
‘‘(2) FEDERAL ROLE.—The Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) provide training and technical assist-
ance (including training materials and informa-
tion developed under subsections (e) and (f) of 
section 21 of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769b-1)) to a 
State to assist the State in carrying out para-
graph (1); or 
‘‘(B) at the option of the Secretary, di-
rectly provide training and technical assistance 
described in paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) THIRD-PARTY CONTRACTING.—In carrying 
out this subsection, the Secretary or a State may
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contract with a third party under procedures estab-
lished by the Secretary. 
‘‘(4) REQUIRED PARTICIPATION.—Under proce-
dures established by the Secretary that consider the 
various needs and circumstances of school food au-
thorities, each school food authority or local edu-
cational agency shall ensure that an individual con-
ducting or overseeing administrative procedures de-
scribed in paragraph (1) receives training at least 
annually, unless determined otherwise by the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(h) FUNDING FOR TRAINING AND ADMINISTRATIVE 
REVIEWS.—
‘‘(1) FUNDING.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On October 1, 2004, 
and on each October 1 thereafter, out of any 
funds in the Treasury not otherwise appro-
priated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture to carry 
out this subsection $4,000,000, to remain avail-
able until expended. 
‘‘(B) RECEIPT
AND
ACCEPTANCE.—The 
Secretary shall be entitled to receive, shall ac-
cept, and shall use to carry out this subsection
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the funds transferred under subparagraph (A), 
without further appropriation. 
‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall use 
funds provided under this subsection to assist 
States in carrying out subsection (g) and ad-
ministrative reviews of selected school food au-
thorities and local educational agencies under 
section 22(b)(3) of the Richard B. Russell Na-
tional 
School 
Lunch 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C. 
1769c(b)(3)). 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may re-
tain a portion of the amount provided to cover 
costs of activities carried out by the Secretary 
in lieu of the State. 
‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall allo-
cate funds provided in this subsection to States 
based on the number of local educational agencies 
that have demonstrated a high level of or a high risk 
for administrative error, as determined by the Sec-
retary, taking into account the requirements estab-
lished by the Child Nutrition Improvement and In-
tegrity Act and the amendments made by that Act.
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‘‘(4) REALLOCATION.—The Secretary may re-
allocate, to carry out this section, any amounts made 
available to carry out this subsection that are not 
obligated or expended, as determined by the Sec-
retary.’’. 
TITLE III—PROMOTING NUTRI-
TION 
QUALITY 
AND 
PRE-
VENTING 
CHILDHOOD 
OBE-
SITY 
SEC. 301. LOCAL SCHOOL WELLNESS POLICY. 
Not later than the first day of the school year begin-
ning after June 30, 2006, local educational agencies par-
ticipating in the programs authorized by the Richard B. 
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et 
seq.) and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 
et seq.) shall establish a local school wellness policy for 
such local agency that at a minimum—
(1) includes goals for nutrition education, phys-
ical activity and other school-based activities de-
signed to promote student wellness that the local 
educational agency determines are appropriate; 
(2) includes nutrition guidelines selected by the 
local educational agencies for all foods available on 
school campus during the school day with the objec-
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tive of promoting student health and reducing child-
hood obesity; 
(3) provides an assurance that guidelines for re-
imbursable school meals shall not be less restrictive 
than regulations and guidance issued by the Sec-
retary pursuant to section 10(a) and (b) of the Child 
Nutrition Act (42 U.S.C. 1779(a) and (b)) and sec-
tion 9(f)(1) and section 17(a) of the Richard B. 
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
1758(f)(1) and 1766(a)), as those regulations and 
guidance apply to schools; 
(4) establishes a plan for ensuring implementa-
tion of the local wellness policy, including designa-
tion of a person or persons within the local edu-
cational agency, or at each school as appropriate, 
charged with operational responsibility for ensuring 
that such school meets the local wellness policy; and 
(5) involves parents, students, representatives 
of the school food authority, the school board, school 
administrators, and public in the development of the 
school wellness policy.
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SEC. 302. SUPPORTING NUTRITION EDUCATION, IMPROV-
ING MEAL QUALITY, AND ACCESS TO LOCAL 
FOODS. 
Section 19 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 
U.S.C. 1788) is amended—
(1) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 
support effective nutrition education through assistance to 
State agencies, schools, and nonprofit entities for Team 
Nutrition and other nutrition education projects that im-
prove student understanding of healthful eating patterns, 
including an awareness and understanding of the Dietary 
Guidelines for Americans, the quality of school meals and 
access to local foods in schools and institutions operating 
programs under the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and section 4 of this 
Act.’’; 
(2) by striking subsections (c) through (h) and 
inserting after subsection (b) the following: 
‘‘(c) TEAM NUTRITION NETWORK.—
‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Team Nu-
trition Network is to—
‘‘(A) promote the nutritional health of the 
Nation’s school children through nutrition edu-
cation, physical activity and other activities that
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support healthy lifestyles for children based on 
the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, issued 
jointly by the Secretary of Agriculture and the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, and 
the physical fitness guidelines issued by the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services; 
‘‘(B) provide assistance to States for the 
development of State-wide, comprehensive, and 
integrated nutrition education and physical fit-
ness programs; and 
‘‘(C) provide training and technical assist-
ance to States, school and community nutrition 
programs, and child nutrition food service pro-
fessionals. 
‘‘(2) STATE COORDINATOR.—The State Team 
Nutrition Network Coordinator shall—
‘‘(A) administer and coordinate a com-
prehensive integrated statewide nutrition edu-
cation program; and 
‘‘(B) coordinate efforts with the Food and 
Nutrition Service and State agencies respon-
sible for children’s health programs. 
‘‘(3) TEAM NUTRITION NETWORK.—Subject to 
the availability or appropriations to carry out this 
subsection, the Secretary, in consultation with the