Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB2471
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Full Text of HB2471  103rd General Assembly

HB2471ham001 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Maurice A. West, II

Filed: 3/21/2023

 

 


 

 


 
10300HB2471ham001LRB103 26114 RJT 59266 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2471

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2471 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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's healthy school meals program should

 

 

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1    support Illinois's food systems, including historically
2    underserved producers and processors;
3        (5) Illinois's healthy school meals program must
4    support students' nutrition and provide quality meals to
5    boost the health and well-being of Illinois students;
6        (6) during the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States
7    Department of Agriculture allowed schools to serve free
8    meals to all students via a waiver, ensuring that all
9    students facing hunger had access to food while in school;
10    and
11        (7) now that the waiver is no longer in place, but
12    strategies exist to prevent hunger for all students during
13    the school day, it is imperative that the State embrace
14    these strategies to move toward the goal of ending child
15    hunger.
16    (b) The General Assembly finds that it is in the best
17interests of the students of Illinois and their families to
18implement the Healthy School Meals for All Program to provide
19free breakfast and lunch in schools for all students.
 
20    Section 10. The School Breakfast and Lunch Program Act is
21amended by changing Section 2 and by adding Section 2.3 as
22follows:
 
23    (105 ILCS 125/2)  (from Ch. 122, par. 712.2)
24    Sec. 2. Reimbursement of sponsors. The State Board of

 

 

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

 

 

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1the National School Breakfast Program.
2    "Federal free reimbursement rate" means the free
3reimbursement rate set by the United States Department of
4Agriculture for meals that qualify for reimbursement under the
5National School Breakfast Program and the National School
6Lunch Program.
7    "Identified student percentage" means the percentage of a
8school's, group of schools', or local education agency's
9enrolled students who are certified as eligible for free meals
10based on documentation of benefit receipt or categorical
11eligibility as described in 7 CFR 245.6 and 7 CFR 245.9 or
12successor regulations.
13    "National School Breakfast Program" means the federal
14school breakfast program created in 42 U.S.C. 1773.
15    "National School Lunch Program" means the federal school
16lunch program created in the Richard B. Russell National
17School Lunch Act.
18    "Participating school board" means the school board of a
19school district or the governing body of a nonpublic school
20that chooses to participate in the Healthy School Meals for
21All Program.
22    "Special assistance alternative" means a special nutrition
23assistance alternative federal reimbursement method that is
24authorized by the United States Department of Agriculture,
25pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1759a and 7 CFR Part 245, for eligible
26schools that serve free meals to all enrolled students.

 

 

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1"Special assistance alternative" includes the Community
2Eligibility Provision.
3    (b) The State Board of Education shall establish the
4Healthy School Meals for All Program to begin on July 1, 2023.
5Each participating school board that chooses to participate in
6the Healthy School Meals for All Program shall offer eligible
7meals, without charge, to all students enrolled in schools
8that participate in the National School Breakfast Program and
9National School Lunch Program.
10    Subject to appropriation, a participating school board
11shall receive reimbursement for the meals set forth in
12subsection (c) of this Section. Reimbursement from State funds
13shall be available only to participating school boards that
14maximize access to federal funds for the cost of the National
15School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program by
16participating in the Community Eligibility Provision or
17another special assistance alternative, if eligible, and
18operate the National School Breakfast Program and National
19School Lunch Program in a way that in the opinion of the State
20Board of Education draws down the most possible federal
21funding for meals served in the National School Breakfast
22Program and National School Lunch Program.
23    (c) It is the intent of the General Assembly that this
24State, participating school boards, and participating schools
25use all federal funds, federal programs, and federal
26provisions in carrying out the Healthy School Meals for All

 

 

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1Program. The amount of the State reimbursement provided
2through the Program to each participating school board for
3each budget year shall be equal to the federal free
4reimbursement rate multiplied by the total number of eligible
5meals that the participating schools serve during the
6applicable budget year, minus the total amount of
7reimbursement for eligible meals served during the applicable
8budget year that the participating school board receives
9pursuant to the National School Breakfast Program and the
10National School Lunch Program.
11    If at any time the appropriation is insufficient to cover
12all school boards interested in participating in the Healthy
13School Meals for All Program as described in this subsection,
14the State Board of Education shall reimburse school boards
15participating in the community eligibility provision with
16higher priority for schools with higher identified student
17percentages that would not otherwise receive the federal free
18reimbursement rate for all meals served, and then distribute
19any remaining appropriation in an equitable manner as
20determined by the State Board of Education among remaining
21schools interested in participating in the Healthy School
22Meals for All Program. If at any time the appropriation is
23insufficient to cover all school boards interested in
24participating in the Healthy School Meals for All Program, The
25State Board of Education shall communicate the implications of
26the insufficient appropriation with eligible schools in a

 

 

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1timely manner to allow schools sufficient time to make
2informed decisions about their food service administration.
3    (d) The State Board of Education shall develop procedures
4to allocate and disburse the money appropriated for
5reimbursements pursuant to this Section throughout each budget
6year, in a schedule determined by the State Board of
7Education, among participating school boards in an equitable
8manner and in compliance with the requirements of the National
9School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch
10Program.
11    (e) A participating school board shall annually give
12notice to the State Board of Education of the intention to
13participate in the Healthy School Meals for All Program. At a
14minimum, if it is eligible to participate, the notice must
15include evidence that it is participating in the Community
16Eligibility Provision or another special assistance
17alternative, as set forth in subsection (b) of this Section.
18    (f) If the United States Department of Agriculture creates
19the option for the State, as a whole, to participate in the
20Community Eligibility Provision, the State Board of Education
21shall evaluate whether that option would be anticipated to
22require less State funding than the Healthy School Meals for
23All Program and provide at least as many free meals to students
24in this State. If that option is anticipated to require less
25State funding and provide at least as many free meals as the
26Healthy School Meals for All Program, then the State Board of

 

 

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1Education shall elect that option and work with participating
2school boards and necessary State and local agencies to
3collect data and implement the Community Eligibility Provision
4statewide, and participating school boards shall be reimbursed
5as set forth in subsection (c) of this Section. Until the State
6participates in the Community Eligibility Provision as a
7State, each participating school board, as a condition of
8participating in the Healthy School Meals for All Program,
9must maximize the amount of federal reimbursement it receives
10as set forth in subsection (b) of this Section.
11    (g) The State Board of Education shall notify each
12participating school board that is eligible for participation
13in the Community Eligibility Provision or another special
14assistance alternative of its eligibility and that, through
15the Healthy School Meals for All Program, it will receive a
16supplemental, State-funded meal reimbursement in addition to
17any federal meal reimbursement received as set forth in
18subsection (c) of this Section. The State Board of Education
19shall support and provide technical assistance to schools and
20school districts as needed to support their enrollment in the
21Community Eligibility Program or another special assistance
22alternative. The Healthy School Meals for All Program shall be
23open to all eligible schools and school districts.
24    (h) The State Board of Education shall support schools and
25school districts to achieve the highest level of student
26participation in operating their school breakfast and lunch

 

 

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1programs, which may include any or all of the following:
2        (1) providing breakfast meals that can be picked up by
3    students;
4        (2) making breakfast available to students in
5    classrooms after the start of the school day; and
6        (3) collaborating with a school's wellness or similar
7    committee in planning school meals.
8    (i) If the State Board of Education no longer receives
9federal funding for the United States Department of
10Agriculture's Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement
11Program, the State Board of Education shall sustain the
12program, subject to appropriation. The State Board of
13Education shall use the infrastructure, systems, and
14eligibility criteria created through the Local Food for
15Schools Cooperative Agreement Program to sustain school food
16authorities' ability to purchase and serve local foods.
 
17    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
18becoming law.".