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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. Findings.
5    (a) The General Assembly finds that:
6        (1) no Illinois child should experience hunger, and
7    every student should benefit from access to healthy,
8    locally procured, and freshly prepared meals during the
9    school day;
10        (2) healthy school meals are necessary for all
11    students for effective learning, and the State's
12    investment in education should include healthy school
13    meals for all students to support the nourishment students
14    need to achieve academic success;
15        (3) access to healthy school meals should not cause
16    stigma or stress for any student seeking an education;
17        (4) Illinois' healthy school meals program should
18    support Illinois' food systems, including historically
19    underserved producers and processors;
20        (5) Illinois' healthy school meals program must
21    support students' nutrition and provide quality meals to
22    boost the health and well-being of Illinois students;
23        (6) during the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States
24    Department of Agriculture allowed schools to serve free

 

 

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1    meals to all students via a waiver, ensuring that all
2    students facing hunger had access to food while in school;
3    and
4        (7) now that the waiver is no longer in place, but
5    strategies exist to prevent hunger for all students during
6    the school day, it is imperative that the State embrace
7    these strategies to move toward the goal of ending child
8    hunger.
9    (b) The General Assembly finds that it is in the best
10interests of the students of Illinois and their families to
11implement the Healthy School Meals for All Program to provide
12free breakfast and lunch in schools for all students.
 
13    Section 10. The School Breakfast and Lunch Program Act is
14amended by changing Section 2 and by adding Section 2.3 as
15follows:
 
16    (105 ILCS 125/2)  (from Ch. 122, par. 712.2)
17    Sec. 2. Reimbursement of sponsors. The State Board of
18Education is authorized to reimburse school boards and welfare
19centers that operate free breakfast programs, school breakfast
20programs, free lunch programs, or school lunch programs for a
21portion of the costs of food served in balanced, nutritious
22breakfasts or lunches and served to students in non-profit
23public or private schools and non-profit welfare centers.
24    The State Board of Education shall reimburse not less than

 

 

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1$0.15 or the actual cost, whichever is less, to School Boards
2and non-profit welfare centers for each free lunch and not
3less than $0.15 or the actual cost, whichever is less, for each
4free breakfast supplied by them. This appropriation shall be
5in addition to any federal contributions.
6(Source: P.A. 91-843, eff. 6-22-00.)
 
7    (105 ILCS 125/2.3 new)
8    Sec. 2.3. Healthy School Meals for All Program.
9    (a) In this Section:
10    "Community Eligibility Provision" means the federal
11program created in 42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)(F) that allows school
12districts to choose to receive federal special assistance
13payments for school meals in exchange for providing free
14school meals to all students enrolled in all or selected
15schools of the school district.
16    "Eligible meal" means a lunch or breakfast that meets the
17nutritional requirements specified in 7 CFR 210.10 or
18successor regulations for the National School Lunch Program or
19the National School Breakfast Program.
20    "Federal free reimbursement rate" means the free
21reimbursement rate set by the United States Department of
22Agriculture for meals that qualify for reimbursement under the
23National School Breakfast Program and the National School
24Lunch Program.
25    "Identified student percentage" means the percentage of a

 

 

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1school's, group of schools', or local education agency's
2enrolled students who are certified as eligible for free meals
3based on documentation of benefit receipt or categorical
4eligibility as described in 7 CFR 245.6 and 7 CFR 245.9 or
5successor regulations.
6    "National School Breakfast Program" means the federal
7school breakfast program created in 42 U.S.C. 1773.
8    "National School Lunch Program" means the federal school
9lunch program created in the Richard B. Russell National
10School Lunch Act.
11    "Participating school board" means the school board of a
12school district or the governing body of a nonpublic school
13that chooses to participate in the Healthy School Meals for
14All Program.
15    "Special assistance alternative" means a special nutrition
16assistance alternative federal reimbursement method that is
17authorized by the United States Department of Agriculture,
18pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1759a and 7 CFR Part 245, for eligible
19schools that serve free meals to all enrolled students.
20"Special assistance alternative" includes the Community
21Eligibility Provision.
22    (b) Subject to appropriation, the State Board of Education
23shall establish the Healthy School Meals for All Program to
24begin on July 1, 2023. Each participating school board that
25chooses to participate in the Healthy School Meals for All
26Program shall offer eligible meals, without charge, to all

 

 

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1students enrolled in schools that participate in the National
2School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program.
3    A participating school board shall receive reimbursement
4for the meals set forth in subsection (c) of this Section.
5Reimbursement from State funds shall be available only to
6participating school boards that maximize access to federal
7funds for the cost of the National School Breakfast Program
8and National School Lunch Program by participating in the
9Community Eligibility Provision or another special assistance
10alternative, if eligible, and operate the National School
11Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program in a way
12that in the opinion of the State Board of Education draws down
13the most possible federal funding for meals served in the
14National School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch
15Program.
16    (c) It is the intent of the General Assembly that this
17State, participating school boards, and participating schools
18use all federal funds, federal programs, and federal
19provisions in carrying out the Healthy School Meals for All
20Program. The amount of the State reimbursement provided
21through the Program to each participating school board for
22each budget year shall be equal to the federal free
23reimbursement rate multiplied by the total number of eligible
24meals that the participating schools serve during the
25applicable budget year, minus the total amount of
26reimbursement for eligible meals served during the applicable

 

 

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1budget year that the participating school board receives
2pursuant to the National School Breakfast Program and the
3National School Lunch Program.
4    If at any time the appropriation is insufficient to cover
5all school boards interested in participating in the Healthy
6School Meals for All Program as described in this subsection,
7the State Board of Education shall reimburse school boards
8participating in the community eligibility provision with
9higher priority for schools with higher identified student
10percentages that would not otherwise receive the federal free
11reimbursement rate for all meals served, and then distribute
12any remaining appropriation in an equitable manner as
13determined by the State Board of Education among remaining
14schools interested in participating in the Healthy School
15Meals for All Program. If at any time the appropriation is
16insufficient to cover all school boards interested in
17participating in the Healthy School Meals for All Program, the
18State Board of Education shall communicate the implications of
19the insufficient appropriation with eligible schools in a
20timely manner to allow schools sufficient time to make
21informed decisions about their food service administration.
22    (d) The State Board of Education shall develop procedures
23to allocate and disburse the money appropriated for
24reimbursements pursuant to this Section throughout each budget
25year, in a schedule determined by the State Board of
26Education, among participating school boards in an equitable

 

 

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1manner and in compliance with the requirements of the National
2School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch
3Program.
4    (e) A participating school board shall annually give
5notice to the State Board of Education of the intention to
6participate in the Healthy School Meals for All Program. At a
7minimum, if it is eligible to participate, the notice must
8include evidence that it is participating in the Community
9Eligibility Provision or another special assistance
10alternative, as set forth in subsection (b) of this Section.
11    (f) If the United States Department of Agriculture creates
12the option for the State, as a whole, to participate in the
13Community Eligibility Provision, the State Board of Education
14shall evaluate whether that option would be anticipated to
15require less State funding than the Healthy School Meals for
16All Program and provide at least as many free meals to students
17in this State. If that option is anticipated to require less
18State funding and provide at least as many free meals as the
19Healthy School Meals for All Program, then the State Board of
20Education shall elect that option and work with participating
21school boards and necessary State and local agencies to
22collect data and implement the Community Eligibility Provision
23statewide, and participating school boards shall be reimbursed
24as set forth in subsection (c) of this Section. Until the State
25participates in the Community Eligibility Provision as a
26State, each participating school board, as a condition of

 

 

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1participating in the Healthy School Meals for All Program,
2must maximize the amount of federal reimbursement it receives
3as set forth in subsection (b) of this Section.
4    (g) The State Board of Education shall notify each
5participating school board that is eligible for participation
6in the Community Eligibility Provision or another special
7assistance alternative of its eligibility and that, through
8the Healthy School Meals for All Program, it will receive a
9supplemental, State-funded meal reimbursement in addition to
10any federal meal reimbursement received as set forth in
11subsection (c) of this Section. The State Board of Education
12shall support and provide technical assistance to schools and
13school districts as needed to support their enrollment in the
14Community Eligibility Program or another special assistance
15alternative. The Healthy School Meals for All Program shall be
16open to all eligible schools and school districts.
17    (h) The State Board of Education shall support schools and
18school districts to achieve the highest level of student
19participation in operating their school breakfast and lunch
20programs, which may include any or all of the following:
21        (1) providing breakfast meals that can be picked up by
22    students;
23        (2) making breakfast available to students in
24    classrooms after the start of the school day; and
25        (3) collaborating with a school's wellness or similar
26    committee in planning school meals.

 

 

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1    (i) If the State Board of Education no longer receives
2federal funding for the United States Department of
3Agriculture's Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement
4Program, the State Board of Education shall sustain the
5program, subject to appropriation. The State Board of
6Education shall use the infrastructure, systems, and
7eligibility criteria created through the Local Food for
8Schools Cooperative Agreement Program to sustain school food
9authorities' ability to purchase and serve local foods.
 
10    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11becoming law.