Program requirements

Lunches served by schools participating in the school lunch program under this chapter shall meet minimum nutritional requirements prescribed by the Secretary on the basis of tested nutritional research, except that the minimum nutritional requirements— Lunches served by schools participating in the school lunch program under this chapter— A school that participates in the school lunch program under this chapter shall not directly or indirectly restrict the sale or marketing of products described in subparagraph (A)(ii) by the school (or by a person approved by the school) at any time or any place— The Secretary shall— not later than 1 year after December 13, 2010— The revision required by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall be made by multiplying— Descriptive material distributed in accordance with clause (i) shall contain a notification that— The programs referred to in subclause (I)(aa) are— A household application may be executed using an electronic signature if— In this subparagraph: The term “error prone application” means an approved household application that— Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the sample for a local educational agency for a school year shall equal the lesser of— The sample size described in this subclause shall be the sum of— The programs described in this item are— The conditions referred to in subclause (I) shall be met for a local educational agency for a school year if— the local educational agency has more than 20,000 children approved by application by the local educational agency as eligible for free or reduced price meals for the school year, as of October 1 of the school year, and— If the review indicates that the initial eligibility determination is incorrect, the local educational agency shall (as determined by the Secretary)— Subject to clauses (ii) and (iii), to verify eligibility for free or reduced price meals for approved household applications selected for verification, the local educational agency may (in accordance with criteria established by the Secretary) first obtain and use income and program participation information from a public agency administering— Public agency records that may be obtained and used under clause (i) to verify eligibility for free meals for approved household applications selected for verification shall include the most recent available information (other than information reflecting program participation or income before the 180-day period ending on the date of application for free meals) that is relied on to administer— the State plan for medical assistance under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) in— Public agency records that may be obtained and used under clause (i) to verify eligibility for reduced price meals for approved household applications selected for verification shall include the most recent available information (other than information reflecting program participation or income before the 180-day period ending on the date of application for reduced price meals) that is relied on to administer— the State plan for medical assistance under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) in— Not later than 3 years after June 30, 2004, the Secretary shall complete an evaluation of— If an approved household application is not verified through the use of public agency records, a local educational agency shall provide to the household written notice that— In the case of a natural disaster, civil disorder, strike, or other local condition (as determined by the Secretary), the Secretary may substitute alternatives for— In accordance with criteria established by the Secretary, the local educational agency may, on individual review— The Secretary shall conduct a study of the feasibility of using computer technology (including data mining) to reduce— Not later than 180 days after June 30, 2004, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report describing— This paragraph applies to— For each school year described in clause (i), the Secretary shall— make performance awards to not more than 15 States that demonstrate, as determined by the Secretary— A State agency that receives a performance award under clause (i)— On October 1, 2011, and each subsequent October 1 through October 1, 2013, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary— In this subparagraph, the term “required percentage” means— Each school year, the Secretary shall— At a minimum, a continuous improvement plan under subclause (I) shall include— Subject to paragraph (6), 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 the status of the child as— The use or disclosure of any information obtained from an application for free or reduced price meals, or from a State or local agency referred to in paragraph (3)(F), (4), or (5), shall be limited to— a person directly connected with the administration or enforcement of— 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 seq.) solely for the purposes of— A State that elects to exercise the option described in subparagraph (A)(iv)(I) shall ensure that any local educational agency or school food authority acting in accordance with that option— Except as otherwise specified in paragraph (3)(E), (3)(H)(ii), and section 1759a(a) of this title, eligibility for free or reduced price meals for any school year shall remain in effect— A child shall be considered automatically eligible for a free lunch and breakfast under this chapter and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), respectively, without further application or eligibility determination, if the child is— In this paragraph, the term “combat pay” means any additional payment under chapter 5 of title 37, or otherwise designated by the Secretary to be appropriate for exclusion under this paragraph, that is received by or from a member of the United States Armed Forces deployed to a designated combat zone, if the additional pay— In this paragraph: The term “eligible child” means a child— The Secretary shall carry out the demonstration project under this subparagraph— At a minimum, the purposes of the demonstration project shall be— For each of 2 school years of the demonstration project, the Secretary shall estimate the cost of the direct certification of eligible children for free school meals through data derived from— In selecting States and local educational agencies for participation in the demonstration project, the Secretary may take into consideration such factors as the Secretary considers to be appropriate, which may include— For purposes of conducting the demonstration project under this paragraph, the Secretary shall have access to— School lunch programs under this chapter shall be operated on a nonprofit basis. Commodities purchased under the authority of section 612c of title 7, may be donated by the Secretary to schools, in accordance with the needs as determined by local school authorities, for utilization in the school lunch program under this chapter as well as to other schools carrying out nonprofit school lunch programs and institutions authorized to receive such commodities. The requirements of this section relating to the service of meals without cost or at a reduced cost shall apply to the lunch program of any school utilizing commodities donated under any provision of law. No member of a household may be provided a free or reduced price lunch under this chapter unless— A school or school food authority participating in a program under this chapter may not contract with a food service company to provide a la carte food service unless the company agrees to offer free, reduced price, and full-price reimbursable meals to all eligible children. Schools that are participating in the school lunch program or school breakfast program shall serve lunches and breakfasts that— To assist schools in meeting the requirements of this subsection, the Secretary— shall— A school food service authority may use any reasonable approach, within guidelines established by the Secretary in a timely manner, to meet the requirements of this subsection, including— Not later than 1 year after November 2, 1994, the Secretary shall provide a notification to Congress that justifies the need for production records required under section 210.10(b) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, and describes how the Secretary has reduced paperwork relating to the school lunch and school breakfast programs. A school participating in the school lunch program under this chapter or the school breakfast program under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) shall— Nothing in paragraph (1) prevents any State or local government from adopting or enforcing any requirement for more frequent food safety inspections of schools. For fiscal year 2026, each State shall annually— For fiscal year 2026, the Secretary shall annually audit State reports of food safety inspections of schools submitted under paragraph (3). Each school food authority shall implement a school food safety program, in the preparation and service of each meal served to children, that complies with any hazard analysis and critical control point system established by the Secretary. Subparagraph (A) shall apply to any facility or part of a facility in which food is stored, prepared, or served for the purposes of the school nutrition programs under this chapter or section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773). If a single State agency administers any combination of the school lunch program under this chapter, the school breakfast program under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773), the summer food service program for children under section 1761 of this title, or the child and adult care food program under section 1766 of this title, the agency shall— The agreement described in paragraph (1)(A) shall be a permanent agreement that may be amended as necessary. The Secretary shall— The Secretary shall— In establishing the requirements for reporting on the school nutrition environment under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015. Each school and local educational agency participating in the school lunch program under this chapter may donate any food not consumed under such program to eligible local food banks or charitable organizations. Not later than 180 days after November 18, 2011, the Secretary shall develop and publish guidance to schools and local educational agencies participating in the school lunch program under this chapter to assist such schools and local educational agencies in donating food under this subsection. The Secretary shall update such guidance as necessary. Any school or local educational agency making donations pursuant to this subsection shall be exempt from civil and criminal liability to the extent provided under section 1791 of this title. In this subsection, the term “eligible local food banks or charitable organizations” means any food bank or charitable organization which is exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) of title 26.