I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3277 
To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to establish a program to improve 
the health and education of children through grants to expand school 
breakfast programs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 21, 2009 
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin (for herself, Ms. BORDALLO, Ms. CORRINE BROWN 
of Florida, Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, Mr. FILNER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 
MASSA, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. SESTAK, Mr. SIRES, and Mr. STARK) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to establish 
a program to improve the health and education of chil-
dren through grants to expand school breakfast pro-
grams, 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 ‘‘Student Breakfast and 
Education Improvement Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
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(1) approximately 60 percent of students in the 
United States are eligible to receive free or reduced- 
price school lunches under the school lunch program 
established under the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); 
(2) in fiscal year 2008, 8,520,000 students in 
the United States consumed free or reduced-price 
school breakfasts provided under the school break-
fast program established by section 4 of the Child 
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773); 
(3) as of the date of enactment of this Act, ap-
proximately 83 percent of all public schools in the 
United States provide 9,500,000 school breakfasts 
each year under the program established by section 
4 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1773) to at least 130,000 
students; 
(4) less than 1⁄2 of the low-income students who 
participate in the school lunch program also partici-
pate in the school breakfast program; 
(5) many students who are eligible for reduced- 
price breakfasts and lunches can afford only 1 of 
those meals per day; 
(6) almost 17,000 schools that participate in 
the school lunch program do not participate in the 
school breakfast program; 
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(7) as of August 2008, over 13,000,000 chil-
dren, or 18 percent of all children, in the United 
States were living in poverty, and, in 2007, and 11 
percent of households in the United States were food 
insecure; 
(8) missing breakfast and the resulting hunger 
has been shown to lower the ability of children to 
learn and hinder academic performance; 
(9) provision 2 as established under subsections 
(b) through (k) of section 245.9 of title 7, Code of 
Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), re-
duces application and administrative burdens for 
schools that provide universal free meals; 
(10) schools electing to implement school break-
fast programs face significant hurdles, such as start- 
up costs and lack of participation, that require var-
ious additional resources for the best solution; 
(11) school districts that are participating in 
the provision 2 option described in paragraph (9) 
have found that the school districts can often pro-
vide universal free breakfast in schools with as little 
as 60 to 75 percent of students who are eligible for 
free and reduced-price school meals due to the sav-
ings realized from reduced administrative costs and 
improved economies of scale; 
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(12) studies suggest that eating breakfast clos-
er to class and test-taking time improves student 
performance on standardized tests relative to stu-
dents who skip breakfast or have breakfast at home; 
(13) studies show that children experiencing 
hunger are more likely to be hyperactive, absent, 
tardy, or have behavioral or attention problems; 
(14) students who eat a complete breakfast 
have been shown to make fewer mistakes and work 
faster in math exercises than those who eat a partial 
breakfast; 
(15) eating school breakfast has been shown to 
improve math grades, attendance, and punctuality; 
(16) providing breakfast in the classroom has 
been shown in several instances to improve attentive-
ness and academic performance, while reducing tar-
diness and disciplinary referrals; 
(17) providing universal free breakfast, espe-
cially in the classroom, has been shown to signifi-
cantly increase school breakfast participation rates 
and decrease absences and tardiness; 
(18) studies suggest that children who eat 
breakfast have more adequate nutrition and intake 
of nutrients, such as calcium, fiber, protein, and vi-
tamins A, E, D, and B6; 
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(19) studies suggest that some students who 
participate in the school breakfast program or other 
nutrition programs have a lower body mass index 
and risk of being overweight; and 
(20) use of local produce— 
(A) reduces dependence on foreign oil by 
reducing fuel consumption rates associated with 
the production or transportation of fruits and 
vegetables; and 
(B) can help to improve the ability of indi-
viduals using the procurement system to pro-
vide education on nutrition, farming, sustain-
ability, energy efficiency, and the importance of 
local purchases to the local economy. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to improve 
student learning and the classroom environment through 
expanded and improved school breakfast programs, par-
ticularly universal programs provided during the school 
day. 
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR EXPANSION OF SCHOOL BREAKFAST 
PROGRAMS TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND EDU-
CATION OF CHILDREN. 
The Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 23. GRANTS FOR EXPANSION OF SCHOOL BREAKFAST 
PROGRAMS TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND EDU-
CATION OF CHILDREN. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF QUALIFYING SCHOOL.—In this 
section, the term ‘qualifying school’ means a school pro-
viding elementary or secondary education at least 65 per-
cent of the students of which are eligible for free or re-
duced-price school lunches under the school lunch program 
established under the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish a program under which the Secretary shall provide 
grants, on a competitive basis, to local educational agen-
cies or State educational agencies for use in accordance 
with this section. 
‘‘(c) GRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES OR 
STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—The amount of grants 
provided by the Secretary to local educational agencies or 
State educational agencies for a fiscal year under this sec-
tion shall not exceed the lesser of— 
‘‘(1) the product obtained by multiplying— 
‘‘(A) the number of qualifying schools re-
ceiving subgrants or other benefits under sub-
section (d) for the fiscal year; and 
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‘‘(B) the maximum amount of a subgrant 
provided to a qualifying school under subsection 
(d)(3)(B); or 
‘‘(2) $2,000,000. 
‘‘(d) SUBGRANTS TO QUALIFYING SCHOOLS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency 
or State educational agency receiving a grant under 
this section shall use funds made available under the 
grant to award subgrants to individual or groups of 
qualifying schools to carry out activities in accord-
ance with this section. 
‘‘(2) STATE AND DISTRICT SUPPORT.—A local 
educational agency or State educational agency may 
allocate a portion of each subgrant to support State 
or local educational agency activities in support of 
qualified schools for which it is more efficient or ap-
propriate to support the activities in a centralized 
manner. 
‘‘(3) AMOUNT; TERM.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 
provided in this paragraph, a subgrant provided 
by a local educational agency or State edu-
cational agency to a qualifying school under 
this section shall be in such amount, and shall 
be provided for such term, as the local edu-
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cational agency or State educational agency, re-
spectively, determines appropriate. 
‘‘(B) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of 
a subgrant provided by a local educational 
agency or State educational agency to a quali-
fying school under this subsection shall not ex-
ceed— 
‘‘(i) $50,000 for a single fiscal year; 
or 
‘‘(ii) $100,000 for all fiscal years. 
‘‘(C) MAXIMUM
GRANT
TERM.—A local 
educational agency or State educational agency 
shall not provide subgrants to a qualifying 
school under this subsection for more than 5 
fiscal years. 
‘‘(e) PREFERENCE.—In providing grants and sub-
grants under this section, the Secretary, a local edu-
cational agency, and a State educational agency shall give 
priority to qualifying schools— 
‘‘(1) in which 75 percent or more of the stu-
dents of which are eligible for free or reduced-price 
school lunches under the school lunch program es-
tablished under the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); and 
‘‘(2) that demonstrate— 
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‘‘(A) an intent to use the grants or sub-
grants to establish or support connections be-
tween the qualifying schools and local agricul-
tural producers and food providers; 
‘‘(B) that the qualifying schools have es-
tablished, or intend to establish, a universal 
free breakfast program; or 
‘‘(C) that the qualifying schools have con-
sidered, or intend to establish, service methods 
that make breakfast a part of the school day. 
‘‘(f) BEST PRACTICES.—Prior to awarding grants 
under this section, the Secretary shall make available to 
State educational agencies information regarding the most 
effective mechanisms by which to increase school breakfast 
participation among eligible children at qualifying schools. 
‘‘(g) APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under this section, a local educational agency 
or State educational agency shall submit to the Sec-
retary an application at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Secretary 
may require. 
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying out this 
section, the Secretary shall— 
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‘‘(A) develop an appropriate application 
process; and 
‘‘(B) advertise the availability of funds 
under this section to qualified schools, local 
educational agencies, and State educational 
agencies. 
‘‘(h) USE OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A qualifying school may 
use a grant provided under this section— 
‘‘(A) to establish, promote, or expand a 
school breakfast program of the qualifying 
school under this section, which shall include a 
nutritional education component; 
‘‘(B) to increase the quantity of local or 
fresh food available under the school breakfast 
program of the qualifying school under this sec-
tion; 
‘‘(C) to provide nutritional education mate-
rials to students; 
‘‘(D) to extend the period during which 
school breakfast is available at the qualifying 
school; 
‘‘(E) to provide school breakfast to stu-
dents of the qualifying school during the school 
day; 
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‘‘(F) to increase participation in the school 
breakfast program, including through a uni-
versal free breakfast program; 
‘‘(G) to compensate for receipts no longer 
collected from reduced and paid breakfasts 
when operating a universal free breakfast pro-
gram; 
‘‘(H) to provide to students first-hand 
knowledge of food systems, including through— 
‘‘(i) occasional activities, such as in-
viting agricultural producers to speak at 
the qualifying school or offering student 
field trips to local agricultural projects; 
‘‘(ii) integrating food system informa-
tion into the curriculum (including mathe-
matics and science classes) of the quali-
fying school; or 
‘‘(iii) collaborating with nutrition ex-
perts, food banks, nonprofit organizations, 
and local farms to develop and integrate 
relevant service-learning opportunities into 
classroom instruction; or 
‘‘(I) to collaborate with local institutions of 
higher education or other research entities (in-
cluding hunger advocacy entities)— 
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‘‘(i) to compile data and reports relat-
ing to the school breakfast program of the 
qualifying school; and 
‘‘(ii) to submit the data and reports to 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—Each activity of a quali-
fying school under this subsection shall be carried 
out in accordance with applicable nutritional guide-
lines and regulations issued by the Secretary. 
‘‘(i) MAINTENANCE
OF
EFFORT.—Grants made 
available under this section shall not diminish or otherwise 
affect the expenditure of funds from State and local 
sources for the maintenance of the school breakfast pro-
gram. 
‘‘(j) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta-
tion with local educational agencies, State edu-
cational agencies, and qualifying schools that receive 
grants and subgrants under this section, shall sub-
mit to Congress an annual report describing the im-
pact of the school breakfast programs of the quali-
fying schools on and classroom performance and en-
vironment. 
‘‘(2) DATA COLLECTION.—The Secretary shall 
provide guidance and minimum standards for data 
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collection to grant recipients and any collaborating 
local institutions of higher education or research en-
tities as necessary to ensure that annual reports 
under this section are able to provide an adequate 
qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the grant 
impacts. 
‘‘(k) EVALUATION.—Not later than 180 days before 
the end of a grant term under this section, a local edu-
cational agency or State educational agency that receives 
a grant under this section shall— 
‘‘(1) evaluate whether electing to provide uni-
versal free breakfasts under the school breakfast 
program in accordance with provision 2 as estab-
lished under subsections (b) through (k) of section 
245.9 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or 
successor regulations), would be cost-effective for the 
qualified schools based on estimated administrative 
savings and economies of scale; and 
‘‘(2) submit the results of the evaluation to the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2010 
through 2014.’’. 
Æ 
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