119th Congress Agriculture and Food
H.R. 6795: School MEALS Act of 2025
Introduced
- Introduced (completed)
- Passed House (not reached)
- Passed Senate (not reached)
- To the President (not reached)
- Became law (not reached)
Summary
This bill establishes programs and revises requirements relating to direct certification processes for the National School Lunch Program. Direct certification allows schools to use data matching procedures to approve school meals without the need for applications for children who receive assistance under other programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Agriculture to provide grants and technical assistance for states and tribal organizations to improve their direct certification processes, including with respect to children who receive assistance under a food distribution program on Indian reservations.
The bill also expands the time frame for schools to elect and gather eligibility data for the Community Eligibility Provision. This provision permits schools in high-poverty areas to serve free meals to all enrolled students without the need for applications.
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Further, the bill specifies that a state subject to a continuous improvement plan (for not directly certifying at least 95% of children eligible for direct certification because they receive SNAP benefits) must implement the improvement measures within three years.
Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Roll calls
No roll call votes have been held on this bill.
Amendments
No amendments were offered to this bill.
Cosponsors
- Ilhan Omar D-MNOriginal
Who scored on this bill
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History
- Introduced in the House by Jahana Hayes.
Show the full action history (2 actions)
- Introduced in House
- Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.