motion
Current law: No provisions.
Section 101: Subject to the availability of funds, this section requires the Secretary to make
payments to State agencies to promote nutrition in child nutrition food service programs.
For each fiscal year, the total amount made available may not be more than � cent times the
number of lunches reimbursed (subsidized) through the school lunch program, the child and adult
care food program, and the summer food service program. At current lunch service rates, this
would total approximately $34 million.
Each State agency would be allocated either a uniform base amount set by the Secretary, or if higher,
an amount based on its proportion of the total number of lunches reimbursed through the school
lunch program, the child and adult care food program, and the summer food service program.
However, the Secretary would be required to reduce proportional allocations to State agencies to the
extent necessary to ensure that the total allocated is not greater than the amount appropriated for the
nutrition promotion program.
Most funding received by State agencies would be disbursed to school food authorities and other
child nutrition food service institutions to disseminate and use nutrition messages and materials
developed by the Secretary. But State agencies would be allowed to (1) reserve up to 5% of their
allocation (or, in the case of small State agencies, a higher percentage set by the Secretary) to support
dissemination and use of nutrition messages and materials developed by the Secretary and (2) retain
an additional portion of their allocation (set by the Secretary) and use the funds to disseminate and
use nutrition messages and materials developed by the Secretary through the summer food service
program.
Documentation of State agency activities would be required, and the Secretary would be permitted
to reallocate unused funds.
Appropriations for the nutrition promotion program are authorized at such sums as necessary to
carry out the program, to remain available until expended. 2
Section 102. Nutrition Requirements
Current law: Lunches served by schools participating in the school lunch program must offer:
fluid milk; and
a variety of fluid milk consistent with prior year preferences, unless the prior
year preference for any particular variety of fluid milk is less than 1% of the total
milk consumed at the school.
[Sec. 9(a)(2) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA)]
Notes: By regulation, substitutes for fluid milk may be offered by schools. But they are
only considered part of a reimbursable (subsidized) school meal if they are provided under the
following rules. Schools must make substitutions in response to a request from a licensed
physician for students with a disability that restricts their diet. Schools may make substitutions
for students with medical or other special dietary needs when requested by a recognized
medical authority. Under the terms of section 4(e) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, the milk
and milk substitute rules of the school lunch program also apply to the school breakfast program.
By policy, they also apply to other child nutrition food service programs.
Section 102: This section replaces current law provisions and establishes rules that, in most
matters, track current law and regulations. It stipulates that lunches served by schools
participating in the school lunch program:
must offer fluid milk in a variety of fat contents;
may offer flavored and unflavored fluid milk and lactose-free fluid milk; and
must provide a fluid milk substitute for students whose disability restricts their diet
on the receipt of a written statement from a licensed physician that identifies the disability and
specifies the substitute.
In addition, schools may substitute a non-dairy beverage that is nutritionally equivalent to fluid
milk and meets nutritional standards established by the Secretary for students who cannot
consume fluid milk because of a medical or other special dietary need (other than a
disability). The standards (among other requirements set by the Secretary) must include
fortification of calcium, protein, vitamin A, and vitamin D to levels found in cows milk.
The permissive substitutions noted immediately above may be made if (1) the school notifies the
State agency that the school is implementing a permitted variation and (2) the substitution is
requested by written statement of a medical authority or the students parent or legal guardian
that identifies the medical or other special dietary need that restricts the students diet. A
school is not required to provide non-dairy beverages other than those the school has identified as
acceptable substitutes. Expenses incurred in providing substitutions for fluid milk that are in
excess of expenses covered by program reimbursements must be paid by the school district. 3
Finally, this section bars schools and institutions participating in the school lunch program from
restricting, directly or indirectly, the sale or marketing of fluid milk products by the school (or
a person approved by the school) at any time or place on school premises or at any school-
sponsored event.
Section 103. Provision of Information.
Current law: No provisions.
Section 103: Prior to the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year, this section requires the
Secretary to issue guidance to States and school food authorities to increase the consumption of
foods and food ingredients that are recommended for increased serving consumption in the most
recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Not later than June 2006, the Secretary is required to issue regulations that reflect specific
recommendations (expressed as serving recommendations) for increased consumption of foods
and food ingredients in school nutrition programs based on the most recent Dietary Guidelines
for Americans.
Section 104. Direct Certification.
Applications and descriptive materials
Current law: Applications for free and reduced-price school meals and descriptive materials
about school meal programs must be distributed to parents and guardians.
[Sec. 9(b) of the NSLA]
Section 104: This section requires that descriptive materials distributed to parents and guardians
contain a notification that (1) participants in the special supplemental nutrition program for
women, infants, and children (the WIC program), the food stamp program, the food distribution
program on Indian reservations, and State TANF programs may be eligible for free or reduced-
price school meals and (2) documentation may be requested for verification of eligibility for free
or reduced-price meals. 4

Direct certification
Current law: A school food authority may directly certify any child as eligible for free or
reduced-price school meals, without further application, by directly communicating with the
appropriate State or local agency to obtain documentation of the childs status as a member of a
food stamp household or a family receiving TANF.
[Sec. 9(b)(2)(C)(ii) of the NSLA]
Section 104: This section requires school food authorities to directly certify as eligible for
free school meals, without further application, any child who is a member of a food stamp
household. In order to carry out this rule, it also requires each State agency to enter into an
agreement with the State food stamp agency to establish procedures under which children who
are members of food stamp households will be directly certified and amends the Food Stamp
Act to require State food stamp agencies to enter into the required agreements and cooperate in
carrying out direct certification.
The direct certification requirements are phased in. For school year 2006-2007, they apply to
school districts with an enrollment of 25,000 students or more in the preceding year. For school
year 2007-2008, they apply to school districts with an enrollment of 10,000 students or more in
the preceding year. For subsequent school years, they apply nationwide. Until mandatory direct
certification for children in food stamp households is fully implemented, the existing permissive
authority is retained.
In addition, this section adds (to existing authority with regard to children in TANF families)
permissive authority for school food authorities to directly certify homeless children, children
served by programs under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, and migrant children.
Funding
Current law: No provisions.
Section 104: This section also provides the Secretary mandatory funding ($9 million to be
available October 1, 2005 and remain available until spent) to assist States in carrying out the
provisions of this section (as to applications and descriptive materials and direct certification)
and verification activities (see section 105). 5
Communications
Current law: No provisions.
Section 104: This section requires that any communications with households for verification or
eligibility determination purposes be in an understandable and uniform format and, to the
maximum extent practicable, in a language that parents and guardians can understand. It also
explicitly permits applications and descriptive material to be made available electronically via the
Internet.
Miscellaneous and conforming provisions
Section 104 further (1) limits information that may be provided to third-party contractors used in
verification follow-up activities (see section 105), (2) allows the disclosure of information to
State Medicaid agencies for direct verification purposes (see section 105), (3) requires State
food stamp agencies to coop