Sec. 105. Nutritional and other program requirements

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Section 9 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1758 ) is amended— by striking the section designation and heading and all that follows through the end of paragraph

(1)of subsection

(a)and inserting the following: The Secretary shall provide— technical assistance and training to schools participating in the school lunch program to assist the schools in complying with the nutritional requirements prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to subsection

(f)and in providing appropriate meals to children with medically certified special dietary needs; and additional technical assistance to schools that are having difficulty maintaining compliance with the requirements. ; in subsection (a)— in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following: In determining the varieties of fluid milk made available in school meals and outside of reimbursable school meals, the Secretary shall— consider the nutrient needs of children who may be at risk for inadequate intake of the recommended daily servings of milk and dairy products under the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans published under section 301 of the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 ( 7 U.S.C. 5341 ) (referred to in this subparagraph as the Dietary Guidelines ); and analyze milk consumption data and trends for school-aged children, evaluating such information in comparison to the recommended servings of milk and dairy under the most recent Dietary Guidelines. Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the Secretary shall begin a review to evaluate whether the current varieties of fluid milk made available in school meals and outside of reimbursable school meals— have increased actual milk consumption in schools consistent with the number of servings recommended under the most recent Dietary Guidelines; have led to any significant decreases in consumption; align with the types, containers and varieties of milk most commonly available in local, regional, and national markets; and include all types of fluid milk that are consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines. Not later than 60 days after completing the review described in subclause (I), the Secretary— shall begin updating any applicable regulations as necessary; and may issue any updates by means of an interim rule. ; by striking

(4)and all that follows through Provision of information

(C)and inserting the following: Procurement and processing of food service products and commodities .—The Secretary The Secretary ; and in paragraph

(4)(as so designated)— by redesignating clauses

(i)through

(iii)as subparagraphs

(A)through (C), respectively, and indenting appropriately; and in subparagraph

(B)(as so redesignated) by redesignating subclauses

(I)and

(II)as clauses

(i)and (ii), respectively, and indenting appropriately; in subsection (b)— in paragraph (1)(A), in the first sentence— by striking June 1 and inserting March 31 ; and by adding before the period at the end the following: and, to the maximum extent practicable, release any associated guidance at the same time the income guidelines are prescribed ; in paragraph (2)— in subparagraph (A), in the first sentence, by striking each State educational agency and inserting the authorized State agency ; and in subparagraph (B)— in clause (i), by striking , and shall contain only the family size income levels for reduced price meal eligibility with the explanation that households with incomes less than or equal to these values would be eligible for free or reduced price lunches ; in clause (ii), by inserting or reduced price after free ; and in clause (iii)(I)— in item (aa), by striking and at the end; in item (bb), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and by adding at the end the following: individuals may report alleged fraud to a specified local or State entity, or to the Department of Agriculture in a manner determined by the Secretary. ; in paragraph (3)— by striking subparagraph

(D)and inserting the following: Each school year, each local educational agency shall verify eligibility of the children in a portion of the household applications approved for the school year by the local educational agency, as of November 1 of the school year, as determined by the Secretary in accordance with this subsection. Subject to subclause (V), the portion for a local educational agency for a school year shall be equal to the lesser of— 10,000; or 10 percent of approved household applications. Not later than July 1 of each year, the Secretary shall calculate the sample size under this subparagraph for each local educational agency based on data from the 2 most recent school years for which data are available. Approved applications shall be selected for verification by the local educational agency based on the following: The household has submitted information in writing to the local educational agency that is inconsistent with the information on the household application. The information provided on the household application is consistent with a pattern of error or fraud documented by the local educational agency, the State agency, or the Secretary. For not more than 1/4 of the sample, the household application provides a case number (in lieu of income information) showing participation in— the supplemental nutrition assistance program established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq. ); or a State program funded under the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families established under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq. ) that the Secretary determines complies with standards established by the Secretary that ensure that the standards under the State program are comparable to or more restrictive than those in effect on June 1, 1995. For not more than 1/4 of the sample, but not less than 1 percent of approved household applications, the income information provided on the household application is close to the income limit for free or reduced price meals, as defined by the Secretary. Such other criteria as are determined by the Secretary. If after completing verification under subclause (III), the number of household applications that match the criteria described in that subclause is insufficient to meet the number of applications determined under subclause (II), the local educational agency shall select additional applications (including students directly certified as described in item (bb)) at random from all students certified for free or reduced price meals that have not been selected, as determined by the Secretary. For purposes of this subclause, a student who is directly certified shall be considered 1 application. In this subclause: The term confirmation rate means the percentage of approved household applications and directly certified students selected by the local educational agency for verification under this subparagraph that had the level of benefits confirmed as a result of information obtained during the verification process, including through direct verification. The term nonresponse rate means the percentage of the approved household applications and directly certified students selected by the local educational agency for verification under this subparagraph for which verification information was not obtained. The term response rate means the percentage of the approved household applications and directly certified students selected by the local educational agency for verification under this subparagraph for which verification information was obtained. Subject to the limitation described in item (ee), the sample under subclause

(II)shall be reduced by not more than the lesser of 4,000 applications or 4 percentage points if— the confirmation rate for the preceding school year was more than 85 percent; or the State agency meets the required percentage described in paragraph (4)(E)(i). Subject to the limitation described in item (ee), the sample under subclause

(II)shall be reduced by not more than the lesser of 2,000 applications or 2 percentage points for each of the following criteria that are met by the local educational agency: For the preceding school year the response rate was more than 80 percent. The nonresponse rate was at least 10 percent below the nonresponse rate for the second preceding school year. The State agency achieves a combined direct certification rate for all methods of direct certification of more than 90 percent of the children in households receiving assistance under the supplemental nutrition assistance program established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq. ), except if the local educational agency receives a reduction for high performance under item (bb)(BB). The confirmation rate is 100 percent or has increased by at least 5 percent over the 2 most recent school years for which data are available. The Secretary shall reduce the sample of approved applications if the Secretary determines, after a request from the local educational agency, that extraordinary circumstances warrant administrative relief in a manner determined by the Secretary. Reductions under this subclause may not result in a sample of less than 3 percent of approved applications. In addition to conducting verification of a sample of applications as described in clause (i), a local educational agency may verify any household application at any point in the school year if the household application meets the criteria described in item

(aa)or

(bb)of clause (i)(III) or such other criteria as are determined by the Secretary. In conducting verification under this subparagraph, a State agency or local educational agency shall not select applications in a manner that violates section 12( l )(4)(M). ; in subparagraph (F)— in clause (i), in the matter preceding subclause (I), by striking may and inserting shall ; and by striking clauses

(iv)and

(v)and inserting the following: If eligibility for a household application is confirmed using direct verification, the children in the household shall be considered directly certified. ; in subparagraph (G)(i), in the matter preceding subclause (I), by striking written notice and inserting notice in the manner typically used by the local educational agency to communicate with families, either written or by telephone, ; in subparagraph (H)(i)— in subclause (I), by striking November and inserting December ; and in subclause (II), by striking December and inserting January ; in subparagraph (K)(i), in the matter preceding subclause (I), by striking data mining and inserting analyses of data ; and by adding at the end the following: The Secretary shall direct local educational agencies to engage in alternative and enhanced methods of certification and verification to increase the effectiveness of the process, reduce certification errors, and produce more meaningful management information to facilitate local educational agency, State, and Federal oversight with respect to program integrity in the school meal programs. The Secretary shall encourage local educational agencies to adopt proven best practices with regard to certification and verification. To the extent necessary to refine alternative certification or verification methods or assess the feasibility, impact, or efficacy of the methods prior to recommending the methods, the Secretary shall select local educational agencies to implement methods subject to clause (iii). The certification and verification methods shall— meet such terms and conditions as the Secretary considers appropriate; and except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, be conducted in accordance with this subsection. In selecting methods, including methods for implementation under clause (i)(III), the Secretary shall— consider the degree to which the method would improve certification accuracy and program integrity within the school meal programs; consider whether there is evidence that the method could be replicated easily by other local educational agencies or political subdivisions; consider whether the method would increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the verification process; consider whether the local educational agency or State agency has a demonstrated capacity to undertake the method and to produce the data necessary to support the evaluation; and ensure the methods implemented under clause (i)(III) are implemented across a range of geographical areas and States, including rural and urban areas, and, when considered as a group, allow for an assessment of a range of strategies regarding verification sample selection, obtaining eligibility documentation, and the entity conducting verification, including strategies that— use analyses of data, particularly in large local educational agencies, to develop algorithms to select error-prone applications for verification; use third-party data sources, including governmental data and private wage data, to confirm eligibility prior to conducting household verification under subparagraph (G); rely on alternative methods, including message testing, of communicating with households to assess which methods most effectively result in household responses; rely on agencies or organizations other than the local educational agency to conduct verification, including the State agency or a State health and human services agency; and could reduce the administrative burden of conducting verification for a consortia of local educational agencies, including shared online applications and shared verification procedures. Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the Secretary shall— conduct an evaluation of the extent to which changes to standard verification and the alternative methods— reduce certification error; result in eligible children losing free or reduced price meal benefits; result in obtaining eligibility information from a greater share of households selected for verification; result in changes to the administrative costs associated with verification; and would benefit from or require Federal or State management, such as contracting with third-party data already obtained and used by the Federal Government for 1 or more other programs; and submit to Congress a report describing the progress made in implementing this subparagraph. If the Secretary determines that 1 or more methods meet the criteria described in subclause (II), the Secretary may require such a method to be implemented by additional States or local educational agencies. The criteria referred to in subclause

(I)are that— the method substantially reduces certification error without impeding access or certification of eligible children for free or reduced price meal benefits; and the administrative cost of the method can be absorbed within existing Federal reimbursements without compromising compliance with other Federal requirements. ; in paragraph (4)— in subparagraph (C)— by striking Subject to paragraph

(6)and inserting the following: Subject to paragraph

(6); and by adding at the end the following: The Secretary shall, in consultation with State agencies, develop and provide a common format to be used by the State agency for any data related to direct certification. ; in subparagraph (D), by striking applies to— and all that follows through in the case in clause

(iii)and inserting applies to, in the case ; by striking subparagraph (E); by redesignating subparagraphs

(F)and

(G)as subparagraphs

(E)and (F), respectively; and in subparagraph

(E)(as so redesignated)— in clause (i), by striking means— and all that follows through for the school year in subclause

(III)and inserting means, for the school year ; in clause (ii)— in subclause (II), by striking and at the end; in subclause (III), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and and by adding at the end the following: include in the report required under section 4301 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 ( 42 U.S.C. 1758a ), a description of technical assistance provided to and progress of States identified under subclause

(I)toward implementing the measures and meeting the goals established by the State as required under clause (iii)(II). ; and in clause (iii)(II)(bb), by inserting within 3 school years after those measures ; in paragraph (15)— in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking section 9(b)(1)(A) of this Act and inserting paragraph (1)(A) ; and in subparagraphs (C)(ii) and (D), by striking paragraph (4)(G) both places it appears and inserting paragraph (4)(F) ; and by adding at the end the following: The Secretary shall, in consultation with an interagency work group established by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and considering State government perspectives, designate data exchange standards to govern, under this Act— necessary categories of information that State agencies operating related programs are required under applicable law to electronically exchange with another State or local agency; and Federal reporting and data exchange required under applicable law. The data exchange standards required by paragraph

(1)shall, to the maximum extent practicable— incorporate a widely accepted, nonproprietary, searchable, computer-readable format; contain interoperable standards developed and maintained by intergovernmental partnerships, such as the National Information Exchange Model; incorporate interoperable standards developed and maintained by Federal entities with authority over contracting and financial assistance; be consistent with and implement applicable accounting principles; be implemented in a manner that is cost-effective and improves program efficiency and effectiveness; and be capable of being continually upgraded as necessary. Nothing in this paragraph requires a change to existing data exchange standards for Federal reporting found to be effective and efficient. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall issue a proposed rule to carry out this paragraph. The rule shall— identify federally required data exchanges; include specification and timing of exchanges to be standardized; address the factors used in determining whether and when to standardize data exchanges; specify State implementation options; and describe future milestones. ; in subsection (f)— in paragraph (1)— in subparagraph (A), by striking and at the end; in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and by adding at the end the following: meet minimum nutritional requirements prescribed by the Secretary on the basis of tested nutritional research, except that the minimum nutritional requirements— may not prohibit the substitution of foods to accommodate the medical or other special dietary needs of individual students; and shall, at a minimum, be based on the weekly average of the nutrient content of school lunches. ; in paragraph (2)— in subparagraph (A), by redesignating clauses

(i)and

(ii)as subclauses

(I)and (II), respectively, and indenting the subclauses appropriately; by redesignating subparagraphs

(A)and

(B)as clauses

(i)and (ii), respectively, and indenting the clauses appropriately; by striking

(2)To assist and inserting the following: In accordance with subparagraph (B), to assist ; and by adding at the end the following: Prior to the beginning of the school year beginning July 2004, the Secretary shall 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 published under section 301 of the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 ( 7 U.S.C. 5341 ). Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 ( Public Law 108–265 ), the Secretary shall promulgate rules, based on the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans, that reflect specific recommendations, expressed in serving recommendations, for increased consumption of foods and food ingredients offered in school nutrition programs under this Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 ( 42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq. ). ; and by adding at the end the following: Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 ( Public Law 111–296 ), the Secretary shall promulgate proposed regulations to update the meal patterns and nutrition standards for the school lunch program authorized under this Act and the school breakfast program established by section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 ( 42 U.S.C. 1773 ) based on recommendations made by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. Not later than 18 months after the date of promulgation of the proposed regulations under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall promulgate interim or final regulations. The Secretary shall establish in the interim or final regulations a date by which all school food authorities participating in the school lunch program authorized under this Act and the school breakfast program established by section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 ( 42 U.S.C. 1773 ) are required to comply with the meal pattern and nutrition standards established in the interim or final regulations. Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 ( Public Law 111–296 ), and every 90 days thereafter until the date on which the Secretary has promulgated interim or final regulations under subparagraph (B), 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 quarterly report on progress made toward promulgation of the regulations described in this paragraph. ; by striking subsections

(g)and (k); by redesignating subsections (h), (i), (j), and

(l)as subsections (g), (h), (i), and (j), respectively; and in subsection

(g)(as so redesignated), by striking 2015 each place it appears in paragraphs

(3)and

(4)and inserting 2020 .

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